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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27487003">They're Gone</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgustD_Fanatic/pseuds/AgustD_Fanatic'>AgustD_Fanatic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band), Stray Kids (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Gun Violence, Healing, Hostage Situations, Kidnapping, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sad with a Happy Ending, Torture, Trauma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 11:00:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>68,712</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27487003</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgustD_Fanatic/pseuds/AgustD_Fanatic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After an awards show goes terribly wrong, multiple K-pop idols are reported missing, leaving the whole world in a panic. Especially when the police receive a ransom note, asking for a large sum of money in exchange for the missing boy's lives.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>249</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>348</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Disclaimer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hey guys! I'm so glad you want to read my story, but there are a few things I want to let you all know before you get started!</p><p>First of all, this will be an angsty/sad fic (as the tags suggest)! So please, if you do not do well with that, don't read (I don't want anyone to get upset or triggered). </p><p>Second off, this will contain some torture, but nothing too graphic. For example, I may mention someone getting beat up, getting shot, breaking a bone, being stabbed, etc., but I will NOT go into too much detail about the process (I will mostly just mention that it happened). Other than that, I will not write graphic torture methods that can be very disturbing. </p><p>Thirdly, I WILL NOT WRITE OR MENTION RAPE. That is something I am very uncomfortable with writing, and I will not include it in my story. Suggestive comments or creepy advances (such as grabbing someone's shoulder or touching the outside of their thigh) may happen. The worst would be a non-con kiss, but it stops there! If that triggers you, I promise to put a warning in the notes before the chapter to let you all know.</p><p>Last thing, this story will have a happy ending! There are no major character deaths, so don't worry about that. More than one person may be close to dying, but they will not actually die!</p><p>That's all I have for you in terms of warnings! If you are concerned about any of this, don't push yourself too far! I want to keep this story sad/angsty but safe for you all. If there is anything, such as the mention of torture, blood, PTSD episodes, or non-con elements, I will put a warning in the notes before the chapter! In addition to that, remember that non-con elements will not include any extreme circumstances, but since it can still be a sensitive topic, I will put asterisks within the passage to let you know when a scene like that begins and ends (it won't be for long). </p><p>Also, SUGGESTION!</p><p>The main groups in this story are BTS, Stray Kids, and Seventeen. However, I am considering adding a fourth group to the story! The ones I am considering are:</p><p>NCT 127<br/>
Ateez<br/>
Got7</p><p>If you all want me to add one of them to the story, leave a comment as to which one! If you would rather the story focus on the other three, that's fine as well. I would really appreciate your input so don't be afraid to let me know what you think in the comments! I will then choose to include whichever option based on the most suggestions. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!! &lt;3</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. How It All Started Out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The whole award show had been going great so far! </p><p>Twice had just finished performing the title track of their new album and were now taking a bow towards the audience erupting with applause. As the girls leaned back up, they gave the audience bright smiles and one last wave before leaving the stage. The area then darkened slightly while crew members immediately ran in to clean up the set in preparation for the upcoming performers. </p><p>Everything had been going smoothly during the transition, until all the lights in the area suddenly shut off. Whispers within the audience raised in noise level while a few screams echoed throughout the building in shock. Everyone was now either reaching for their phone in an attempt to turn on some light or blindly searching around for their friends. They were all surprised since no extreme malfunction like this had occurred at an award show before, but the idols, staff, and audience had no doubt it would be fixed soon. After all, this was only a small technical difficulty, right?</p><p>Unfortunately, those hopes had been cut short when the echo of gunshots rang about the whole stadium. The earlier screams of shock turned into ones of terror as people ducked in response to the fearful sound while others ran towards what they assumed to be the exit. Security guards were now pushing past the flow of audience members to reach the idol groups they had sworn to protect and usher them to safety. </p><p>With people running about in every single direction, the scene could only be defined as one of chaos. </p><p>The entrance doors to the building hosting the famous show had burst open with a sea of people scurrying around in a panic. Echoes of, “119, what’s your emergency?” could be heard all over while pedestrians passing by watched the frenzied scene unfold before them. Those who had made it outside were now banded together in groups for safety and reassurance as they looked upon the building with a mixture of dread and confusion. Approaching police cars, ambulances, news reporters, all rushed in, adding to the hectic scene surrounding them all. </p><p>No one could even begin to comprehend what the reasoning was behind this catastrophe. Least off all, prepare themselves for the dreadful news story that would be released less than 24 hours later, beginning with the words:</p><p>They’re Gone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. They have to be Safe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Written in the perspective of Bang Chan from Stray Kids</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chan was beyond terrified.</p><p>The entire situation had sent his mind into complete overstimulation as worry laced with fear and confusion. First responders were pushing through the crowd, yelling out what felt like thousands of orders and questions, while the screams from wild audience members continued. Everyone else around him was either numb to what was going on or had tears of panic reflecting in their eyes. </p><p>Despite wanting to fall victim to the hysteria too, as a leader, Chan knew what his top priority had to be: make sure that all of his members were safe. </p><p>As security guards clutched at every inch of his body, he struggled to look in front and behind him. He could only thank whatever luck was on his side that he was close to the majority of his members, even after the lights went out, and that he didn't have to run around and find them. He saw both Changbin and Hyunjin holding hands and clinging onto each other tightly as they were surrounded by guards as well. Seungmin was behind him with a numb expression on his face, and Jeongin was catching up to the leader, allowing Chan to pull him into his embrace and protect the young boy just as he had sworn to do when they met years ago.  He was still searching for the remaining three members when they were forced to stop near a parked police car for safety. Once they were there, Chan gathered Seungmin to join him and Jeongin and walked over to where Hyunjin and Changbin were standing. </p><p>After he was assured that they were all okay, he looked around frantically for the others before hearing someone repeatedly whisper, “It’s okay. It’s okay. Please calm down Jisung.” </p><p>At the mention of one of his missing members, Chan swiveled his head around to find Hyunjin trying to calm down a fast-breathing Jisung on the verge of an anxiety attack. He rushed over to them in an effort to calm the shaking boy as well, “We are here Jisung. Don’t worry.”</p><p>Chan needed his members to feel secure in order to reassure himself. However, Jisung showed no signs of calming down as Hyunjin looked up at their leader, “It usually takes him a while to relax from these kind of attacks. Changbin and I can handle it. You should find the rest.”</p><p>Chan knew Hyunjin was scared out of his mind as well, but he was still doing his best to keep everyone together. He was proud to have such a brave brother. The leader then turned back to Jeongin and Seungmin to check in on them as well. Jeongin was totally shaken up while Seungmin had a look of complete horror etched onto his face. </p><p>“Are you both okay?”</p><p>The youngest looked up at him with big nervous eyes but shook his head “yes” nonetheless. Seungmin, on the other hand, was whispering something underneath his breath. Chan moved closer to ask what the other was saying when he heard the repetition of ‘no’ leaving the boy's lips.</p><p>“Seungmin, are you—” </p><p>“Minho and Felix.”</p><p>At the mention of their names, all the memories flooded back to him, and Chan’s heart dropped. </p><p>“Oh god.”</p><p>~ a few minutes ago ~</p><p>Twice were reaching the end of their song when Felix suddenly tapped his leader on the arm, “Hey Hyung, I have to use the restroom really quick, but I’ll be back.”</p><p>Despite Felix being fully capable of going by himself, Chan was still worried for the boy and always wanted his members to go places with at least one other person, “Here, I can go with you.” He then stood up from his chair and waited for the other.</p><p>Before Felix could reject the older’s offer, they heard another voice beside them, “Where are you guys going?”</p><p>They both looked over to find Minho leaning towards them in curiosity while the rest of the group was immersed with the performance in front of them. </p><p>“I’m just going to go with Felix to the bathroom.”</p><p>“You really don’t have to—”</p><p>Minho abruptly interrupted Felix’s plea, “Actually, now that I think about it, I have to go too. Felix and I can head there together, so you don’t worry about going as well, Chan-Hyung.” </p><p>After considering what Minho had to say, Chan reluctantly nodded his head in approval as the other two members got out of their seats. They quickly applauded with the rest of the crowd for girl group whom they had always admired and swiftly made their way back to where the restrooms were located. As they walked away, Chan suddenly felt a bad feeling arise within his gut, but he merely pushed it aside. Nothing was wrong, so why was worrying himself? He shook his head in ridicule of what he amused was foolishness and watched Twice continue with their bows.</p><p>If only he knew his gut was right, and that it would be a long time until he could see the familiar figures of his members again as they retreated into the darkness. </p><p>~ present ~</p><p>Chan could feel panic erupt throughout his body. Both Minho and Felix were nowhere to be found since they had split from the group, and he ran over to the guards protectively standing in front of them, “Sir! Two of our members are missing! We need to go find them right now!”</p><p>As he tried to run past the man he had just spoken to, a hand reached out to grab his arm in a powerful grip, “I’m sorry Mr. Bang, but I cannot let you, or any of the others, run back in there. You have to stay here for safety purposes. I’m sure the other two are being escorted somewhere else as we speak, but you must remain here for now.”</p><p>Chan felt warm tears rush down his face as he was held back, “But you don’t know that! They are my family, and I heard fucking bullets being shot in there! I need to make sure they are safe, and nothing you say can stop me.”</p><p>The leader used all of his strength to remove the bone-crushing grip their guard had on his arm, but it was no use. Despite being incredibly strong himself, he really was no match for the buff men protecting them. </p><p>“Again, I am sorry Mr. Bang, but you are staying here.”</p><p>Chan gritted his teeth in anger, “I swear to god, let me—”</p><p>He immediately stopped what he was saying as another hand gripped his shoulder. It was Hyunjin, looking at him with red, teary eyes, “Chan, listen to him. There is honestly nothing we can do, and you would only be putting yourself in danger. Felix and Minho are smart, and I’m sure there are plenty of guards taking care of them as well right now. You need to calm down, please.”</p><p>At Hyunjin’s desperate expression, Chan slowly took in a breath and looked up at the foreboding building. Although there was no damage to the outside, he could only imagine the destructive chaos lurking from within that gave everyone chills. He bowed his head towards the ground and nodded to his member, “Okay.” Hyunjin gave him as supportive a smile as he could manage before guiding him towards the other cowering members. Chan could only give himself false hopes at that point.</p><p>Felix and Minho are safe. </p><p>They have to be safe.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter will focus on BTS! Thank you all for the kudos and comments, and just to let you know,  I am still accepting any suggestions for the story! Much love &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Issues with Sound</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Written in the perspective of Namjoon from BTS<br/>warning: some gun violence</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The loud music was thundering from above their heads as BTS waited underneath the stage to perform next. Right now, they were gathered together in a circle for a pep talk, a common way to just hype each other up and occasionally joke around in case any of them were at all nervous. Just as Jin finished sharing one of his famous jokes with the members, followed by a windshield wiper laugh, the ongoing performance came to an end. All the boys immediately got ready for their sound checks and the rush of crew members who would help the group finalize any last-minute touchups before the show. As they all began to test their microphones, Namjoon realized that he couldn’t hear his own voice through the in-ear he had. He looked around to see if anyone else was having issues as well, but they all seemed fine. That’s when he finally decided to speak up, “I don’t think my in-ear is working.” </p><p>Jimin looked curiously at the leader, “The staff said all the microphones and IEMs were working before.”</p><p>The older just shrugged, “I guess something happened, but it’s no big deal. We still have a few more minutes, so I can get a backup.”</p><p>As the checks continued on, Jungkook noticed that he had the same problem as well, “I think mine is broken too, or at least something like that.”</p><p>All the other members were suddenly concerned about the issue both boys were having, but Namjoon didn’t seem to notice as he responded to the maknae, “It’s probably a similar problem. Come on, let’s go check it out Kookie.”</p><p>Jungkook jumped up at the nickname with a bright smile before following his leader backstage to where they had gotten fitted for mics earlier. The design of the building they were in housed part of the sound crew responsible for this task in a small room, further away from the stage. Once they had arrived, the two boys spotted three staff members trying to manage various pieces of equipment lying around them. That’s when one man, the same person who had fitted them for mics previously, caught sight of them, “Hello again Mr. Kim and Mr. Jeon. Is there something I can help you with?”</p><p>Namjoon spoke up as the man approached, “Yes sir. It seems as if our in-ear mics aren’t working correctly. Outside noises are blocked out, but neither of us could hear our voices.”</p><p>The man looked at pair oddly, “Interesting. It sounds like there’s an issue with either the receiver or your transmitter. However, we tested the pieces not too long ago, and there was nothing wrong. Oh well, things happen. Let me take a look so that we know if it’s a quick fix or if you both need new ones.”</p><p>Being conscious of time, Namjoon and Jungkook quickly removed the packs and awaited answers. However, they didn’t have to wait long before the man started speaking again, “It’s definitely the receiver, but what is strange is that nothing is broken. The settings have merely been changed, almost like they were tampered with.”</p><p>Namjoon was about to question the man further when all of a sudden, the power immediately shut off. The leader could now feel a new weight placed on his arm when Jungkook grabbed him in surprise of the darkness now surrounding them. </p><p>“Oh, now what—”</p><p>Before the crew member could finish his complaint, a loud crack echoed throughout the room along with some rustling noise. Confused as to what was going on, Namjoon went to reach for the man and ask him what had happened when he felt something cold and hard press against his temple in addition to a clicking sound, “If you don’t want us to put a bullet in you or your friend’s head, then you’ll come with us.”</p><p>Before either could even process what was going on, rough hands grabbed at both the idols. Jungkook’s grip tightened on Namjoon’s arm before it was ripped away by the force of the other people. The older reached out for the youngest of his group in an effort to defend him when the metal pushed further into his head, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I won’t give you another warning, start walking now or the staff will be scrubbing brains off these walls.”</p><p>Namjoon was frozen. He had no idea if this man was serious or not. After all, he couldn’t even see if the object against his skull was really a gun or not. However, everything from the power going out to the strange voices now threatening violence against them, read danger, and Namjoon knew he had to put protecting his younger brother first. He would rather be safe than sorry. Therefore, the older whispered out, “It will be okay Jungkook,” as he stood up and let the tight grip around his arm guide them towards the door. </p><p>“Alright, you two are going to walk calmly to the exit with us. No yelling and no running away. I think you already understand what will happen if you don’t listen.”</p><p>Namjoon nodded, and hoped Jungkook agreed as well, before following the men out of the now opened door. A few people could be heard in the hallway running around, probably trying to fix the power, but still, no could be seen clearly in the darkness. As they moved out of the room, both boys could feel people brushing past them in emergency to fix the malfunction, and Namjoon could hardly resist the temptation to simply reach out to someone or yell for help. After all, they were so close, but he knew that would not only endanger himself and Jungkook, but also the innocent workers roaming the hallway in a hurry. </p><p>As they approached an empty corner turning towards the exit, Namjoon caught sight of a shining light behind them. He ears only picked up the words, “Where are they?” before he was shoved forward again. The leader simply guessed that the light belonged to some security guards tasked with making sure the members were safe, and he desperately hoped the person would find them. That’s when the flashlight suddenly shone on the group, and the eyes of the guard widened in shock while he reached for his weapon, “Don’t move!”</p><p>Namjoon felt a slight twinge of hope spring throughout his body until the deafening sound of a gunshot pierced his ears. The leader just stood there, frozen, as the guard fell to the ground in pain, obviously hit by the fired bullet, while Jungkook immediately covered his ears in fright as he pressed further into the wall next to them. The kidnappers reacted in a panicked manner, hoping that more guards wouldn’t catch up in response to the sound, “Get them to the back! I’ll keep an eye out for anymore guards.”</p><p>The other nodded his head to the gunman as he yanked the youngest from the wall, “Come on!”</p><p>He threw the boy forward right as Namjoon reached out to grab his maknae. Both their minds were completely submerged in a world of anxiety and terror due to everything that was going on, and right now, the only thing they had control was the safety of one other. </p><p>They both hesitantly began running again with the men in fear as the exit to the backstage soon appeared. During the trip there, a few more gun shots rang out. Some farther away, some close as the gunman next to them shot at anyone who seemed threatening. Once they reached the exit door, both members were pushed in the direction of a large black van parked out back with doors wide open. The kidnappers kept pressuring the boys to move further when all of a sudden, Namjoon stopped to the sound of sirens. He could hear them echoing in the distance and wondered, ‘maybe if I could stall long enough, we could be saved.’</p><p>However, the men were having none of that as they harshly shoved Jungkook into the van and reached for Namjoon. The leader dodged the hand swiftly and felt a small amount of relief wash over him as the sounds of help continued to get closer. If he could just hold out for a little longer—</p><p>“Oh, for fucks sake.”</p><p>That’s when he felt a sharp, blinding pain shoot through his skull as one of the kidnappers slammed the butt of their gun into the back of his head. Namjoon felt his knees collapse while his vision blackened quickly. He could hear the muffled cries of Jungkook screaming at the strange men in an effort to reach for his older brother, but it was no use. The leader soon fell into complete darkness when hands grabbed at both his arms and legs to throw him into the cold vehicle that promised unpleasant memories to come.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Seventeen's chapter will be next! Also, I'm so sorry if I butchered any of the issues with their technology. I tried to look up how all of it worked, but I'm still far from being an expert about how sound is set-up backstage. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and as always, comments and kudos are definitely appreciated! And one last thing, I've narrowed down the fourth group to either NCT or Ateez. However, I will keep accepting suggestions until chapter 6. Thank you! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Nowhere Else to Go</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Seventeen's chapter is finally here!!! Written in the perspective of Mingyu from Seventeen<br/>warning: gun violence</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The award show was just like any other. Mingyu was sitting with Hansol, Jeonghan, and Junhui in some extra seats, separated from the other members of Seventeen by an aisle in between them, but the group was used to such circumstances given they had 13 members. </p><p>One minute everything had been going fine as he conversed with his brothers, and the next, Mingyu found himself attached to Hansol in surprise of the darkness that just took over all of their surroundings. It seemed to have startled multiple others as well when they heard various screams echo around the building. </p><p>“What the hell?”</p><p>Although he couldn’t see him, Mingyu knew that voice belonged to Hansol. Honestly, he was wondering the same thing. Something this bad had never happened at an award show before, and it left the members with an anxious feeling. They saw multiple lights shine around the large room as others attempted to see what was going on when suddenly, one flashlight shined on the group of four. </p><p>Mingyu wasn’t the only one surprised by it as he saw Jeonghan jump up in his seat at the unexpected light and grab onto Junhui. That is when the man behind the mysterious light started to speak, “Don’t worry, I am just a security guard for you. We have been ordered to escort all of you out of the building for safety.”</p><p>Initially confused by the situation, Mingyu was going to ask why such measures were taking place, but Junhui beat him to it, “The only problem seems to be the power. Why do we need to be taken outside?”</p><p>The man tried to put on an understanding expression for the confused idols, “It is just a precaution. No malfunction has ever occurred like this, and we need to make sure everything is safe for you gentlemen. As a matter of fact, other guards are gathering up the rest of your members as we speak, and you will be able to reunite with them outside after you come with us.”</p><p>Minygu lifted his head up to see the rushed movement of shadows reflected onto the walls from the sporadic lights shining everywhere. He couldn’t tell whether or not the other members were actually leaving, but he had Junhui, Hansol, and Jeonghan with him for support. </p><p>In the end, they all seemed to agree with the man as they stood up from their seats and followed him. Mingyu could tell some of them still seemed wary of the situation, but at this point, there was nothing more they could do. </p><p>The walk had been going smoothly for a few seconds until Junhui questioned the direction in which they had been going, noticing it was more towards the back area rather than the more crowded front, “Sir, are you sure we should be going this way?”</p><p>Before the man could even get a chance to respond, echoes of a few gunshots rang about the entire area. It sounded further away, towards the backstage, but all the members knew that this situation was no longer a simple issue. With such dangerous sounds confirming Junhui’s constant suspicion, the member grabbed onto the arms of Mingyu and Jeonghan before saying, “This isn’t the right direction! I’m sorry, but we are going towards the front where the gunshots didn’t come from!” </p><p>Instead of hearing a concerned response from the previously polite guard, Mingyu caught the man rolling his eyes in the glow of his flashlight as he said, “Dammit, I don’t have time for this.”</p><p>Before any of the four idols could react, the security guard pulled out a gun of his own and aimed it at the group of boys letting a bullet fire from the weapon. </p><p>Mingyu felt his ears ring from the sound as terror washed over his entire body. The scream of Jeonghan was faintly picked up by him when Mingyu felt the hand on his arm pull him towards the ground. With the only source of light around them pointed at Junhui, Mingyu’s breathing stopped when he caught sight of a red liquid gathering around the boy. Before he, or the other two members, could even reach for their injured friend, the now fake security guard spoke up again, his aim still trained on Junhui, “You three, get up now! If you don’t want the next one lodged in his head, you will come with us!”</p><p>Even though Mingyu heard the order loud and clear, he couldn’t get his own legs to move. His mind was racing between multiple thoughts as he deciphered whether or not to check on Junhui’s condition, go with the man to prevent his hyung from getting hurt more, or protect Hansol and Jeonghan from the fake guard as he ordered them around, obviously putting them in danger.</p><p>“What did you just d—!” </p><p>Hansol’s protest was cut off by the guard’s voice, “I’m not going to ask again. I’m pulling the trigger in one,”</p><p>Mingyu could only stare in the direction of where Junhui was laying with Jeonghan crying next to him, asking him to say something. </p><p>“Two.”</p><p>“H-hyung?” Jeonghan nodded his head frantically in reassurance, glad to have a response from the injured boy. </p><p>“Thr—"</p><p>“Stop! Stop! We will come with you!” Mingyu just watched as Hansol agreed to the order with a shaky voice while Jeonghan refused to let go of their injured brother. He felt like he was trapped inside his own body. Mingyu wanted to do something, anything! But he remained frozen. His mind had completely crashed as another guard, who had been silently hiding behind the other man the whole time, grabbed his arm and led him towards where Hansol was now standing as they watched their hyung be pried from Junhui’s body by the lead kidnapper. </p><p>Jeonghan was thrown into the youngest’s arms before all three were persistently pushed towards the rear exit. Mingyu could hear Hansol whisper to the older, “It’s okay, the other members will find Jun. This was the only way to save him. It’s okay.” He had no idea how the younger could have such a clear head during this time. In a way, he was envious, wishing he could protect his members in the same way. </p><p>If only he would have seen the silent tears falling down his brother’s face to know how panicked he was as well. </p><p>The three were harshly pushed through some exit doors with more gunshots ringing about as if they were coming from every inch of the building. Mingyu was glad to finally see the faces of his brothers again in the streetlights, but that slightly relieved feeling was gone once he spotted a group of strange men lifting an unmoving body into an open van. </p><p>Mingyu needed to do something now if he wanted to protect his two members. He then closed his eyes as he attempted to focus himself and break out of his frozen state. With a new sense of resistance finally overcoming him, Mingyu began to struggle against the tight grip on his arm. Taking the man by surprise, he was actually able to break away from his hold and run towards the other kidnapper who had both of his hands grasping the shoulders of Hansol and Jeonghan. Tackling the other to the ground, he tried to tell the other two members to run when the man who had been holding him previously, now pointed a gun at him, “Get up right now! Or I’ll shoot you and make you watch as we beat up your friends while you bleed out and then throw them into that van!”</p><p>Before Mingyu could even make a decision, the man he had tackled to the ground also reacted to the situation and threw Mingyu off his body, making the boy slam his head into the concrete below them. With his mind fuzzy from the force of impact, he could barely register anything that was happening beyond that point. He could only hear a couple screams and protests as his body was dragged in the direction of the van and thrown in. With the yells getting closer, he heard multiple more thuds around the van before hands, this time with a softer touch, caressed his head, “I’m so sorry Mingyu.”</p><p>He knew that small voice could only belong to Jeonghan, but before he could lean further into the comforting touch of his hyung, the hands were yanked from his body as the older cried out in a mixture of pain and despair. He felt something cold wrap around his wrists with a tight pressure, but that didn’t matter to him anymore as he continued to fall in and out of the messy fog in his mind. Mingyu finally decided to close his eyes in fatigue as the vehicle’s engine rumbled, and the van started driving away.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this update took so long. I had finals throughout last week and this week and had to finish papers like crazy! Anyway, I finally got to writing, and this happened (btw I plan to update every 3-4 days)! I hope you all enjoy, and this will be the last chance for suggestions of the last group (either Ateez or NCT) since next chapter with be their POV. Much love &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Separated from the Group</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The big reveal: final group is Ateez!<br/>Thank you to everyone for your awesome suggestions, and for those of you who requested NCT, I am really sorry they won't be included. However, I really hope you still like the story, and I really did appreciate hearing from you guys no matter what! Enjoy this new chapter!<br/>Written in the perspective of Seonghwa from Ateez</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seonghwa was currently traveling behind all of his members as they continued their walk backstage to get seated in the audience. He laughed silently to himself as he watched the two little misfits, known as Woosan, walk in front of him while pushing each other around. A few more seconds of their constant joking went by before Wooyoung suddenly turned around and jumped onto his oldest member, “Hyunggg, I’m hungry!”</p>
<p>Seonghwa was shocked by the weight now on top of him, but he was able to keep his balance as Wooyoung slowly slid down his body, waiting for the older’s response.</p>
<p>“What do you want me to do?”</p>
<p>The smaller just kept teasing him, “Get me food!”</p>
<p>Before Seonghwa could respond with a questioning look and a simple, confused, “no,” Wooyoung had accidentally stepped on the back of his foot, causing his shoe to slide off, “Ya!” </p>
<p>The younger just giggled as he stayed back and impatiently waited for his Hyung to pick it up. The rest of the members didn’t notice as they passed around a corner at the end of the hall, unintentionally leaving the duo behind. </p>
<p>However, just as Seonghwa went to fit his shoe back on, he couldn’t see anything. Looking around, he noticed that all the lights had turned off, and the hallway was now pitch black. A small hand suddenly pressed onto his shoulder, but he soon relaxed knowing it was Wooyoung when the younger began to speak, “Woah. What just happened? Are you all right Hyung?”</p>
<p>Seonghwa’s first instinct was to nod at him until he remembered the other definitely wouldn’t see it, “Yeah. I’m fine, but I have no idea what’s going on.” They looked around in confusion once more before the older continued, “We should probably catch up to the others.”</p>
<p>He heard a hum of agreement from the smaller boy and quickly picked up his fallen shoe. It was a little more challenging to put it on now that the lights were off, but it was a simple dress shoe that could just be slipped back on. </p>
<p>Once he was done, he took Wooyoung’s hand off his shoulder and kept it in his grip to make sure they stayed together. Feeling against the wall next to them in the darkness, they maneuvered around the corner their members had disappeared behind not too long ago and hoped it would not take much longer to catch up. That’s when Seonghwa’s hand brushing against the perimeter suddenly dropped off the wall into nothingness. It was most likely space leading into another hallway, but he had no idea if they should follow it. That’s when Wooyoung tugged on his arm, “Oh my god, why didn’t we think to turn on a flashlight. Here, I’ll pull out my phone.” </p>
<p>Seonghwa mentally hit himself in the face at the realization but was glad that one of them finally thought of something useful. The bright light that was now turned on blinded the older as Wooyoung had it accidentally pointed towards his face. That’s when he heard a giggle, “Sorry Hyung.”</p>
<p>Even though Wooyoung gave him an apology, Seonghwa knew that behind his little giggle, the younger was totally making fun of him as per usual. He merely made a face at his Dongsaeng before looking to where the light was facing. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, he was right, and there were two paths laying in front of them. The one on their left was another long continuous hallway while the other one extended straight forward and had a large double door at the end. </p>
<p>Biting his lip in concentration, Seonghwa decided to ask Wooyoung what he was thinking, “Well, which one should we follow?”</p>
<p>The younger just shook his head, “I have no idea.”</p>
<p>Feeling the same way, Seonghwa looked back at their options, “Me neither. Maybe we should try the one straight ahead. The doors might lead to the main area.”</p>
<p>“I guess that—”</p>
<p>Before Wooyoung could even finish his response, a deafening bang echoed throughout the hallway. Both boys raised their heads in terrified awareness, now feeling that the situation was much worse than what they had initially believed. Wooyoung immediately clung onto Seonghwa tighter, “H-hyung?”</p>
<p>The older just looked in the direction of his member in terror. He had no idea what was going on, but right now, his priority must be to get them both to safety, away from the source of that sound, and find the rest of his members. He merely tugged on their joined hands and tried to pull Wooyoung towards the door that they had originally planned to go through until a light shone down the hallway they had just come from. Not knowing who was behind it, they both continued moving forward in a rush to reach the door.</p>
<p>“You two!”</p>
<p>The light now shone on them, highlighting expressions of absolute horror and surprise. Seonghwa was about to finally open the door and escape, but the strange man grabbed onto the other arm of his Dongsaeng. Getting ready to defend his member, the older yanked the boy away from him and stood in between Wooyoung and the newcomer. However, before he could say anything, the man began to speak, “My apologizes for startling you both. I am a worker here, and we have been instructed to escort any idols out of the building immediately.”</p>
<p>Still weary of the situation, Seonghwa stood still where he was, “What is happening?”</p>
<p>The man stepped towards the other hallway they had almost taken and gestured for them to follow, “Not only are there serious technical issues that led to the malfunction of the lights, but it seems as if there could also be new unknown dangers in the building. You two need to leave right now.”</p>
<p>Startled by the information, Seonghwa questioned the man once again, “Unknown dangers, what does that mean exactly?”</p>
<p>The man just sighed out loud, “I don’t have many details either, but I do know that you two need to leave promptly just as the other idols are being directed to do so as well.”</p>
<p>Instead of doing what the worker had asked of them, Wooyoung cried out, “Wait! That means we need to find our other members and make sure they are okay!” </p>
<p>He then stretched his arm out towards the door handle again to crack it open a small bit, but before he could move any further, the other man reached out in panic, “I know you both are worried for them, but you cannot be going places randomly! It is my job to protect you and get you to the exit. Your members are most likely being safely led somewhere else right now.”</p>
<p>“But sir—”</p>
<p>The man interrupted Seonghwa’s plea, “Again, I understand your concern, but there is currently nothing you can do except ensure your own safety. So, please, follow me now.”</p>
<p>Still fighting the urge to run through those doors and reunite with the rest of their group, Seonghwa knew that he and Wooyoung couldn’t take that chance. Besides, he had one member with him whose wellbeing he deemed just as important, “Okay.” The older held on tightly to his Dongsaeng’s hand as they began their walk. </p>
<p>It didn’t take long, only about two more turns, before they reached the exit, but instead of seeing tons of people outside huddled together in groups for security like they had expected, the boys spotted two vans parked outside with men dressed in black surrounding them. </p>
<p>“Wait, what—”</p>
<p>Handcuffs were hurriedly placed around Seonghwa’s wrists once he had started speaking. Looking behind himself in shock, he watched with dread as the same man who promised to protect them did the same to Wooyoung, “Damn, that was almost too easy.”</p>
<p>Before Seonghwa could even try anything to free himself or his younger brother, one of the men that had been previously standing by the vans approached them and wrapped his arms around the older boy in a tight grasp, “You get the other one.”</p>
<p>The strength of the man was far past what Seonghwa was capable of. Sure, he had great tone and power from dancing, but this guy he was up against was pure muscle. With only one thing left to do, Seonghwa sucked in as much air as he could into his lungs to scream loudly, but only a small amount of sound came out before the man covered his mouth quickly, “Shut the fuck up you little brat.”</p>
<p>With nothing else to do, Seonghwa now felt the fight start to leave his body as he was thrown harshly into the van, Wooyoung following not too long after. Another man had been waiting in there and pulled out a small white cloth from his coat pocket while heading towards the younger. Seonghwa was immediately infuriated by the idea of someone hurting his little Dongsaeng any further and tried to get up, but the man who had tossed him in there pulled him back by his arm, “Now, now, now, we don’t want you to mess anything up, do we?”</p>
<p>The older didn’t respond and could only watch in despair as the other man pressed his cloth against the lips and nose of his struggling member. He knew he should have been more cautious with following the strange "worker" and ridiculed himself mentally as tears of regret and fear washed down his face that matched Wooyoung's. The young boy's eyes then began to droop close as a similar fabric was now placed onto Seonghwa’s face. He kept trying to break away from the tormenting arms holding him down, but it was no use. Whatever chemicals these kidnappers had soaked the cloth in was quickly reaching the boy’s brain, and his whole awareness began to blur. With his consciousness slowly fading away, Seonghwa heard some more thumping around in the van and saw a short burst of blonde hair entering into his vision before it completely darkened.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for such a late update, but the good news is that I'm done with finals!!!! YAY! (updates will now go back to the  normal 3-4 days). Thank you to everyone who wrote the lovely comments encouraging me through them! I definitely wasn't expecting to receive anything like that, so it really made my day! Much love for you all &lt;3<br/>Anyway, this is the last kidnapping POV, so the more dramatic stuff will be coming up soon! Hope you guys look forward to it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Sad Truth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Written in the perspective of Seungcheol from Seventeen</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seungcheol felt as if the world was collapsing around him. It had been about ten minutes since he was evacuated from the building, and four of his members were still missing. He had tried calling each of their cellphones multiple times, but none of them answered. The leader then resorted to asking nearly every police officer and security guard in his sight if they had seen them, but he still had no luck. They either responded with a simple ‘no’ or ignored the worried boy to finish with whatever they had been doing. </p><p>As the chaos continued to ensue around him, security guards were now asking all of the audience members to move to the parking lot, away from the kpop idols in order to prevent any interactions that could cause additional trouble. As those fans were being directed away, a few cops came out of the award show building, ordering emergency medical teams to come to their assistance. Everyone was now holding their breath, including Seungcheol. They had obviously heard gunshots from within the building that immediately made the occupants inside run for their lives, but so far, no one had any clue as to who was injured. </p><p>A few minutes had gone by before two stretchers returned with a body lying on both. Blood could be seen soaking through the clothes of the injured individuals, and Seungcheol heard some people scream in panic or get queasy and faint from the sight. The last thing Seventeen’s leader wanted was to see one of his missing members being rolled out on one of those, but unfortunately, fate was a cruel thing. </p><p>He saw a third stretcher come out with a familiar mop of dyed light brown hair positioned on it. Seungcheol felt panic start to arise within him, but he managed to calm himself down a little bit. Maybe it was not who he was thinking? He’s a kpop idol for god’s sake! Nearly every person he knows has dyed hair, so it could be anyone! Quickly rushing towards the EMTs as they got closer, Seungcheol went over to make sure it wasn’t one of his younger brothers that got hurt. Time seemed to stand still as he looked over the shoulder of the medical worker running past him and dreadfully saw Junhui laying there, a grimace on his face and blood gushing out of his shoulder. The leader whispered out a horrified, “no,” before running after him as if his life depended on it. The other members he was with followed him, but Seungcheol didn’t notice. The only thing he was concentrated on was the pained face of his little brother. </p><p>He watched as the team raised Junhui into the ambulance and jumped in right after them. He heard a few protests and yelling, but he blocked it all out to reach the younger. Once he was able to hold the boy’s hand in his, Seungcheol felt tears start fall down his face, “Junhui. How did this—” He was about to ask the boy what happened, but Junhui didn’t need that stress right now. He simply needed reassurance from the leader, “You are going to be just fine, Junhui. Don’t worry, we got you.”</p><p>The younger finally looked at him with glazed eyes, “H-hyung?”</p><p>Seungcheol nodded frantically. He was overjoyed to have a response from the injured member, but his relief didn’t last long as a strange hand touched his shoulder. The leader jerked back only to see that it was one of the medical workers, “I’m sorry sir, but you need to back away so we can take care of him. Your friend only has a bullet wound in his right shoulder, which isn’t too serious, but he has lost a lot of blood. Therefore, we need to get him to the hospital right now. Only two people are allowed in here with him, so you need to decide whether or not you are coming and if there will be another person joining us.”</p><p>Seungcheol desperately wanted to watch over Junhui and monitor his condition, but he knew he should stay to lead the rest of his members and find the last three that were missing. Making a fast decision, Seungcheol climbed to the open back of the vehicle to find the rest of Seventeen gathered there, some with tears straining down their face, “Which two of you want to go with him? Hurry up and decide now!”</p><p>The members all looked at each other in concern, trying to communicate with one another. However, their silent conversation was lasting longer than they could afford, so Jisoo finally made a decision and raised his hand, “I can go.” Looking back at the other group members, many of whom had no idea what was even going on, he knew exactly who would need to be there, “Minghao, come with me.”</p><p>Said boy immediately nodded his head and climbed into the ambulance with Jisoo. Following the leader to Junhui, they watched as he took one last glance at the injured boy and squeezed his good arm in reassurance before getting up to leave. However, his plans were stopped short when the weak hand he was about to let go of tugged him downwards. It seemed as if Junhui was trying to say something, prompting the leader to lean down quickly.</p><p>“S-save them.”</p><p>It was only a small whisper that left the now passed out boy’s lips, but to Seungcheol, it was the loudest sentence he had heard that night. The EMTs instantly placed an oxygen mask on his face before escorting the completely shocked leader out of the vehicle and closing the doors to take off. </p><p>Seungcheol was still standing where they had left him, silently listening to the fading sound of the sirens, when Jihoon walked up to him. The boy was trying to stay strong and refused to let tears fall down his face, but his leader’s frozen expression left him even more concerned, “Hyung, are you okay? Is Junhui-hyung going to be okay?”</p><p>Seungcheol just remained still, shaking his head in denial of what was happening before Jihoon finally lost patience and carefully shook the man, “Seungcheol-hyung!”</p><p>The leader was now pulled out of his trapped daze and looked at his other member in terror, “Junhui told me something.”</p><p>Jihoon’s eyes widened at that, “He did? Does that mean he’s all right?”</p><p>Seungcheol could feel tears threatening to fall down his face once again as the adrenaline of the whole situation was finally wearing off, leaving him to actually acknowledge all of the events that had just happened, “The wound was in his shoulder. The EMTs said that it wasn’t too damaging, but that he was losing blood fast. That’s all I know.”</p><p>Jihoon felt a mixture of relief and worry course through him. Junhui was being rushed to the hospital which obviously scared him to death, but the wound was not as bad as it could have been. Knowing his older brother, he would put up his greatest effort to make it through. He had to. </p><p>Once Jihoon was at least updated on Junhui’s condition, he was now curious about what he said to their leader, “What did he tell you?”</p><p>Seungcheol turned to him with fearful eyes and tear tracks covering his face, “Save them.”</p><p>----------</p><p>A few more minutes had gone by, and the other three were still nowhere to be found. The police had searched the entire building with no luck finding the members or the intruder. With nothing else left to do, the group was now given a two options: ride to the hospital to check on Junhui or go to the police station for questioning and updates. Their manager said that they would only be questioned if the three members weren’t found after a second search around the building. Seungcheol told him that they have no idea what happened either, but his manager just told them what the officers had relayed to him, “They said that one of you may have important information or suddenly remember urgent details. If you don’t want to talk, they will respect your choice.”</p><p>Keeping both options in mind, Seventeen split up into two groups, Seungcheol, Wonwoo, Jihoon, and Seungkwan would go to the police station while Soonyoung, Seokmin, and Chan would meet up with Jisoo and Minghao at the hospital. Giving each other much needed hugs before leaving, Seungcheol said one last thing to the group as a whole, “I’m sure the police will help us find them. We will all share updates, all right?” The members nodded in agreement before he continued, “Take care of each other.” They all shared sad smiles at that before officially departing to their awaited destinations. </p><p>----------</p><p>At the police station, the four boys were anxiously waiting in the seating room for a few minutes before an older man in uniform came out to greet them, “Hello gentlemen, my name is Officer Kim, and I will be leading the group in charge of this new case that arose tonight. I’m so sorry that you all had to be a part of something so horrific, but rest assured, I will do my best to help you all out as best as I can.”</p><p>Seungcheol was the first one to stand up and shake the man’s outstretched hand, “Thank you sir, I am Seungcheol, the leader of Seventeen and these are three of my members, Jihoon, Wonwoo, and Seungkwan. The rest couldn’t come because they are either at the hospital waiting to hear updates about one of our members who got shot tonight, or,” Seungcheol struggled to vocalize the last reason, “or they cannot be found. I was hoping you could tell us what happened so that we can reunite with them as soon as possible.”</p><p>The man let out a sympathetic smile that only made Seungcheol think that he was feigning concern and nothing more, “My men are working on it right now. There are reports of missing people going around all over the place. Your members are highly prioritized and may have been taken somewhere else for safety. In fact, most of the reports will be resolved by morning, revealing that people either ran away to a nearby establishment for safety or were hiding somewhere else in the building.”</p><p>Seungcheol started to become upset at the man’s calm demeanor, “Well, one of my members is shot, may I remind you, so I’m not exactly relieved by those words. Especially since, as you said, we are very important and probably would have been protected by security guards. If that were the case, then we would be reunited at this point or would have received a call from at least one of them.”</p><p>Despite the slightly harsh tone Seungcheol spoke in, the officer maintained the relaxed expression on his face, “I know you are worried, but we still don't know the motive behind this attack. However, it is most likely that they are fine and just ran off to somewhere else for safety. In fact, another group is faced with the same problem as well. They are in a special meeting room in the back of the station if you would like to join them for a quick briefing focused on what you all should expect during this situation.”</p><p>This new information peaked Seungcheol’s curiosity, and he soon agreed to it, following the lead officer to the backroom with his other members. Before they walked in, the man turned to them, “I will be back shortly to talk with you all. After that, if any of you have questions, you may ask. Also, if you feel comfortable with an officer questioning you about the events of tonight, you can let us know. It may help us with our investigation.”</p><p>Seungcheol watched as his members agreed to what the man said before walking into the room. A large, plain table was displayed in the middle with multiple black chairs surrounding it, almost as if they were entering a meeting room. Honestly, Seungcheol wished they were actually going to a normal meeting where Junhui was safe and Jeonghan, Mingyu, and Hansol were with them again. </p><p>At the end of the room, there was a group of six boys sitting by the far end of the table. A boy with dark brown hair suddenly looked up at the intrusion, and Seungcheol immediately recognized him as Bang Chan from Stray Kids. The groups then bowed to each other in greeting as the main officer closed the door soon after. </p><p>--------</p><p>Two more male idol groups had joined them later on, and they all had a somber expression plastered onto their face as they worried for the missing members. During that time, the groups had shared everyone who was currently gone: Felix and Minho from Stray Kids, Jungkook and Namjoon from BTS, Wooyoung and Seonghwa from Ateez, and finally Hansol, Mingyu, and Jeonghan from Seventeen. When Jihoon had shared with them that they had discovered Junhui was shot, the rest of the boys immediately stiffened up in fear. None of them had a clue as to what they should expect, but it seemed as if only negative outcomes could invade their mind. They all knew this wasn't a normal situation, and Seungcheol was wondering if he should share what Junhui had told him with everyone or wait until he could tell the officer alone in private. However, it was too late to decide as the man that had talked with all the boys entered the room with another officer, “Sorry for the wait gentlemen. This is my partner in command, Officer Choi." He gestured to the slightly smaller man before continuing, "I know you are all worried right now, but I assure you, we are doing all we can to find out where your friends are. In the meantime, there are a few things you all can do. First of all, if you are comfortable with it, we would like to ask you all questions about what you witnessed tonight. I know most of you don't know much, but there could be key information hiding beneath your experiences. Secondly-"</p><p>Before he could finish, the ringtone of Officer Choi's phone suddenly interrupted him. Glaring at his partner in annoyance, Kim watched as the man quickly picked it up to tell the caller that he was busy when all of a sudden, he stopped what he was saying. Looking curiously at the phone, Choi hesitated before handing it to the other officer, "It's actually for you. The caller says it's urgent."</p><p>Taking the phone irritation, Kim answered with a simple, "hello," and waited for the other to respond.</p><p>"C-check your email."</p><p>The officer didn't recognize the voice behind the strange number, but it was shaky with fear, worrying him further, "Who are you?"</p><p>They didn't respond. Instead, the line went silent, leaving the officers to ignore it for now. However, they didn't get very far in continuing their speech before the phone rang with the same number again. They both sighed as Officer Kim answered it this time, "You need to stop calling-"</p><p>He was cut off by sniffling as the person on the other side was trying to control their cries, "P-please! Just do it!"</p><p>The desperation behind the voice now alerted the men that something could be seriously wrong. Listening as the device went silent again, they both excused themselves in front of the boy groups before Officer Kim opened up his phone to check his email. Seeing a new message from an unknown sender, he clicked on the mysterious link, hoping it wasn't some stupid prank kids have previously tried to play on them. </p><p>It was not. In fact, it was much, much worse than they could have ever imagined. The boys in the room now watched in fearful impatience as the officers paled at what appeared before them, realizing that the lost members were not simply missing. They were kidnapped.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yikes! Things are getting more interesting! Thank you all for the kudos and comments, and I hope you have an amazing day (and enjoy this chapter, of course)! Much love &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Don't Talk Back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV Felix from Stray Kids<br/>WARNINGS!!!!: violence/torture</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Felix felt his awareness begin to stir as he woke up from, what he assumed to be, a very deep sleep. </p><p>He had just had the worst nightmare last night! In his dream, he and Minho were going to the restroom at an award show when all of a sudden, two men with guns pointed at them both gagged the surprised boys and quietly dragged them to the back exit of the place they were at. There, Felix saw two members of Ateez, oddly enough, already in the van and passed out cold. He continued to struggle against the men until they put a cloth over his face and thankfully, his nightmare slowly faded away. </p><p>Trying to sit up while squinting his eyes that were currently being blinded by the bright lights of the room, Felix felt a strong urge to run into Minho’s room and give the boy a big, soft hug to ensure that he was okay. </p><p>Getting his eyes to finally focus on his surroundings, Felix’s relieved demeanor was immediately ruined by what he saw. Right in front of him, on the opposite side of the strange area, he spotted five young men passed out, and chained to the wall behind them by a cuff on their ankle, and further restricted by handcuffs around their wrists. </p><p>Maybe last night wasn’t simply a nightmare?</p><p>Attempting to get up and check on the unresponsive guys, Felix immediately tumbled down once he took a step. Looking at what had tripped him, the young boy spotted the same type of chain connecting his left ankle to the wall as well. </p><p>That’s when he found his Hyung sleeping silently next to him. Reaching out to embrace the passed-out boy, Felix wrapped himself around the older’s waist as he continued his investigation of the room. Next to Minho, lay two more boys also passed out, meaning that Felix was the only one awake right now. However, familiar features caught his eye as Felix recognized the smaller figure. It was Wooyoung, the same member from his dream, that was laying softly next to Seonghwa, the oldest member of Ateez. </p><p>Looking back at the other five boys he had gazed upon for only a short while, Felix could now identify them as Namjoon and Jungkook from BTS and Jeonghan, Mingyu, and Hansol from Seventeen. Noticing that all of these famous idols were unwillingly taken here along with him and his Hyung, Felix felt his gut clench at the foreboding feeling that now took shelter there. </p><p>Moving his gaze towards the left wall farthest from him, that separated the four groups into two, Felix spotted three filthy chairs placed against it. They all appeared to be hard and metallic, but Felix didn’t seem to care about that. Rather than comfort, he was genuinely scared of the cuffs attached to both the arms and legs of the chairs for intense restraint. </p><p>Lastly, the wall closest to him, though still fairly far away seeing as how they seemed to be taken to large, concrete warehouse room, housed the only door in sight. Felix looked at it pleadingly, wishing for the entrance to magically open and the restraints on all of them to disappear into thin air. </p><p>Focused on the door, Felix didn’t even notice someone else waking up until he heard a small groan. Looking for the source of the sound, he saw movement from Namjoon who struggled to open his eyes.</p><p>Waiting for the older to get used to his now awakened state, Felix decided to check on his physical wellbeing, seeing as how the older was slightly grimacing in pain. He raised his voice quietly, cautious of startling the other idol, "Namjoon-sunbaenim, are you okay?"</p><p>Said rapper just shook his head to clear his mind before searching for the mysterious voice calling his name. He finally made eye contact with a young-looking blond boy who appeared to be concerned for him, but also terrified about something else. Taking a closer look, the BTS member was able to recognize the boy as Lee Felix from the kpop group, Stray Kids, “I’ve been better, but I think I am okay for now. It’s just my head that is hurting.”</p><p>The small boy nodded as Namjoon continued, “Where are we?”</p><p>Felix merely shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know. The last thing I remember is going to the bathroom with Minho-hyung when we were dragged out to a random van in the back of the parking lot at the award show. After that, it’s all blurry.”</p><p>The younger boy watched as Namjoon widened his eyes in remembrance of what actually happened last night, “Oh god.”</p><p>Looking around in a panic, the older was about to completely freak out until he spotted Jungkook laying next to him and placed a hand gently on his dongsaeng’s head in relief. Felix recognized the emotions going through him right now. After all, he was in the same position a few seconds ago when Minho’s safety was all he cared about. </p><p>Namjoon continued looking down at his member, caressing his dark hair, when he suddenly spoke up again, “You’re Lee Felix from Stray Kids, right?”</p><p>Felix nodded his head as he laid on Minho’s torso, “Yes.”</p><p>Namjoon just hummed, “It’s nice to meet you. Although, I do wish it were under different circumstances.”</p><p>Felix smiled back sadly, “Me too. This is not how I wanted to meet one of my favorite Sunbaenims.”</p><p>The older slightly giggled, “After this, I don’t think we will be strangers anymore. If you would like to, you can just call me hyung.”</p><p>Despite not knowing each other, and only seeing one another in the news or in youtube videos and other random stuff like that, the two knew they had trust each other. </p><p>Felix smiled shyly, “Thank you, Namjoon-hyung.”</p><p>—————</p><p>Soon, everyone was able to gradually wake up from their sleep, leaving the ones already aware of what was going on, mainly Felix and Namjoon, to explain what they knew so far. </p><p>They all figured out that only Namjoon and Mingyu sustained damage from the attacks of last night, but luckily for them, their injuries weren’t too serious. Just a small lingering headache from their head injuries that should go away soon. </p><p>As all the idols conversed with one another about what they should do, the sudden sound of creaking metal interrupted their discussion. Looking over to the entrance in fear, all of them moved in closer to their group mates and waited with fearful eyes to see who the new intruder was. </p><p>Three unknown men walked into the room dressed in all black with some gadgets hanging on their belts. One of the men approached them all with a sadistic smile on his face while the other two wore neutral expressions. </p><p>The smiling man was a bit smaller and skinner than the other two, but he still had a good amount of muscle to show. The man on his right had light brown hair with dark eyes that seemed like they could possess anyone who looked into those evil orbs. Also wrapped around his arm was a vicious green snake tattoo that taunted everyone in the room. Lastly, the guy on the left appeared to be the strongest, with humungous biceps disfiguring the sleeves of his shirt and the outline of muscles visible everywhere on his body.</p><p>Felix held onto Minho tighter while the other boy tried to wrap his arms around the younger’s shoulders better. The rest of them just waited for the men to say something, but nothing happened. That’s when Hansol was done with the ‘staring contest’ between all of them and talked, “Who are you, and why are you keeping us here?”</p><p>The lead scrawny man smirked at the idol, revealing crooked teeth that shone with the satisfaction of finally getting a reaction, “Ah, so they do speak. Very well, since you asked so kindly,” his voice lowered significantly to a threatening tone sent towards the Seventeen member, “I guess we should tell you all what we are doing.”</p><p>The man then began to walk around the room in a cocky manner, as if he were a teacher ridiculing his students, “Honestly, it’s simple enough. Long story short, my colleagues and I wish to leave this country for another without being detected. To do so, we need a lot of money to make such a dream possible, so we figured, go big or go home. Knowing the growing sensation of kpop in this country, we decided to use our intelligence skills to kidnap you boys when you would all be gathered together at an award show. With you all gone, your companies will be willing to sell and arm and a leg to get you back, granting us more than enough money to leave South Korea for a life of luxury and freedom.”</p><p>Once the man finished with his little speech, Namjoon responded back, “Why do you need to leave the country, and why couldn’t you have just gotten money in a legal way, robbed a bank, or something else other than this?”</p><p>The assumed-to-be-leader just rolled his eyes in exaggeration, “First of all, you don’t ask the questions, we do. Secondly, it’s more fun this way.”</p><p>Felix felt sick at the amused smirk the man let out from the idea of messing with people’s lives recklessly, and Namjoon, obviously, wasn’t satisfied with that answer, “So this is some kind of messed up game to you? You are only playing with luck at this point since we will be found—”</p><p>The skinny guy laughed out loud before Namjoon could finish, “It’s hilarious that you think we are just some random criminals. Here, let me ask you this, why do you think the power outage occurred at the same time as your kidnapping? Why haven’t the police tracked your locations and found you yet? How do you think we could have pulled this off without any sort of special skills?”</p><p>No one had a single idea in their head before the man answered for them, “It’s because we aren’t normal people. We have connections everywhere, and we know how to scam the simple investigators in charge of finding us. If we wanted to, we could sell all of you to rich buyers from around the world for you to never be seen again. Or we could just leave you all here to rot since this place hasn’t been discovered by law enforcement in decades. Trust me when I tell you that there is no escape. We control your every move from now on.”</p><p>As all of the idols took in the dire information, there was a softer sounding voice coming from behind Felix as Seonghwa asked a question, “But why kidnap so many of us? Couldn’t you have succeeded with at least half the people here?”</p><p>The man actually smiled at this, “There’s the question I’ve been waiting for! Normally, you are right, it would be easier for us to just take one of you but being in a business like we have for a while now, we understand that there is a better way to ensure ourselves that you won’t do anything stupid and get us caught," the man’s creepy smile spread even further across his face, "If one of you were to try and escape, like a fucking idiot, then we will simply kill other member. For you three," he then pointed towards the boys from Seventeen, “we will force one of the two left behind to kill the other.”</p><p>All of the boys blanched at the thought, making some whimper in fear for their lives and mostly, their brothers, while others began to protest. The loudest one of all, however, was Mingyu, “Touch my members, and I’ll go after you myself! No one here will ever listen to you bastards, especially now that you’ve said that!”</p><p>The man just sighed, almost as if he were disappointed, before looking back at his muscled friend and gesturing towards Mingyu. The man headed straight for the group and everyone held their breath. They had no idea what was going to happen, and even if someone wanted to help, the chains around their ankles and wrists made sure no one could interfere. </p><p>Mingyu braced himself for a hit or some physical pain he was assured would be inflicted on him, but nothing came. However, if he had any hope of being forgiven, it was immediately crushed by the large man approaching Jeonghan instead and gripping the boy’s fragile throat in his veiny hand.</p><p>Mingyu and Hansol immediately screamed at the men, getting up to attack the horrible beast choking their brother when the two other guys caught their ankle chains with force, making sure neither could reach their target. Hansol now had tears bursting down his face while Mingyu screamed in fury at all of the men. The one with dark eyes merely smirked at him, “Don’t try to fight this boy. After all, it is your fault.”</p><p>Trying his best to stay strong for his brothers, Mingyu felt himself begin to crack as he now felt tears of fear and frustration run down his face. Not only that, but the man’s words were actually getting to him: this was his fault. Jeonghan was hurting because of him, and he needed to stop them.</p><p> The choked sound his Hyung let out in desperation for air was the final push to get Mingyu to apologize frantically, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I won’t have an outburst again! I promise, just let him go! PLEASE!”</p><p>Everyone in the room could hear Hansol echoing his Hyung’s words as well, but not even that could distract them or anyone else from Jeonghan’s purpling face as his legs kicked out in a final attempt to escape the man’s deathly grip. </p><p>They all watched in horror as the older boy’s eyes rolled back into his head before the burly man finally flung him back onto the ground. With Mingyu and Hansol now free to move to him, they clung onto their Hyung as delicately as they could, so that he could get some air back into his system while their arms surrounded him safely. </p><p>Watching as Jeonghan was having a coughing fit with an already scratchy voice, Mingyu cried to him, “I’m so sorry Hyung. I will never let them hurt you again. I promise. I promise.”</p><p>All the occupants of the room watched the three males’ anguished reunion before the lead kidnapper spoke up once again, with a contented expression “Thanks to your friends over here,” he pointed back at the little huddle of Jeonghan, Hansol, and Mingyu, “I can get to my other point. Even if you don’t escape, you all will still get in trouble for disobeying our orders. However, as you’ve just seen, you won’t receive the punishment directly. Instead, it will be your precious members who get to bear the pain and suffering. Therefore, I would think twice before trying anything that you all would all call ‘courageous’ around here. Because in reality, it’s foolish to think you’ll get away with anything." </p><p>All the boys just stared at the intimidating trio in anxiety, not knowing what to do next. The scrawny man simply turned back to his other colleagues and whispered between them. Felix felt his own eyes go back and forth from Jeonghan’s now somewhat normal complexion to the group of torturous men, probably plotting another disaster to bestow upon them. </p><p>Watching as they separated once again, the muscular man stepped forward, “You all must answer this one question."</p><p>The idols immediately stiffened up at being ordered to do something for the first time.</p><p>"I want you all to tell us how old you are. Starting with you."</p><p>The man pointed at Namjoon first. Initially confused by request and frozen from what had just occured, the leader hesitated. However, that proved to be a mistake as the man walked towards Jungkook in a threatening manner. The younger just stared at him in hatred while clinging onto his older brother.</p><p>"I’m not going to fucking ask again."</p><p>They still remained stubbornly silent before the small guy of their group spoke up, "Looks like Mr. Jeon will be our second example of the night!"</p><p>Now terrified for his brother and breaking out of his stubborn attitude, Namjoon immediately answered, "I’m 26 years old!"</p><p>Silence followed for a while after as everyone wondered whether or not the man would punish them for taking so long.  However, he simply nodded in impatience before looking to Jungkook expectantly. The younger BTS member watched him with big, cautious eyes he answered as well, "I-I’m 23."</p><p>This continued on for all of the boys, each sharing their name hesitantly, Jeonghan’s weak voice making them all cringe, as if they understood nothing good would come out of it but knowing they didn’t have a choice. Once they all answered, the three men whispered between themselves before nodding their heads and proceeding to stare down the youngest one: Felix. </p><p>Intimated by their looks, he tried to shrink into his embrace with Minho, but their safety together didn’t last long as the biggest man approached them and grabbed Felix’s arm roughly, "Get up."</p><p>Felix finally let some tears fall down his face in fear of the man, but also from the pain of his touch. Minho, however, felt a much different kind of emotion run through him as he reached for the man’s muscled arm, "Let him go! Now!"</p><p>All the boys widened their eyes in surprise of his resistant reaction, but in a way, they understood why he did what he did. After all, if it were their member in that spot, they would stop at nothing to protect them.</p><p>The kidnappers could honestly see this response coming as the dark eyes guy approached them and grabbed Minho’s prying hand off of his colleague. Still putting up a fight to save his little dongsaeng, Minho fought against this new man’s forceful grip as well. </p><p>The older boy tried as best as he could, but a loud slap that echoed throughout the room made him fall back with intense force. It seemed as if the man grew tired of these games and lost his patience. Standing up over the boy in fury, the man swung his heavy foot back to kick the fallen boy in his stomach. Repeating the same action over and over again, Minho was now a groaning mess as he could barely stand the pain blooming all over his body for much longer. </p><p>The rest of the idols watched in despair as the scene unfolded before them. They either fiercely yelled at the man to stop or stilled in fear, surprised by the man’s hidden strength and not willing to possibly endanger their own members.</p><p>The man just continued with coloring Minho’s body blue and purple as he mercilessly beat him up until he was satisfied with the lack of reaction now coming from the sluggish body.</p><p>Felix, however, was completely distraught over what had just happened. Ever since the harsh slap, the younger was begging for them to stop, and insisting that he would do what they needed, but none of them listened. He could only watch in misery as his beloved member got horribly beat up by the sturdy boots of a very much NOT weak man.</p><p>Once it stopped, his cries could be heard by the men clearly, "STOP! Please don’t hurt him! I’ll do anything, just stop! Please!"</p><p>Finally done with the punishment, the men moved around each other to unlock Felix’s ankle cuff and lead the small boy towards one of the chairs at the far side of the room. The boy had to work against every bone in his body not to turn back around and run to Minho to hold him as if his life depended on it. </p><p>Making it over to the awful chairs, Felix noticed that the men didn’t use any of the shackles on him when he sat down. Probably sensing the younger’s analytical thoughts about not being restrained, the man who dragged him over spoke up, "Trust me, I know what you are thinking. Attempt to escape, and your friend over there will be beat into the ground, you hear me?"</p><p>Not wishing to possibly hurt Minho again, Felix shook his head ‘yes.’ A few seconds had passed before one of the men who had disappeared without notice entered the room with a camera connected to a tall stand and a piece of paper in his hand.</p><p>Felix felt his body shake uncontrollably as he watched the man set it up right in front of him before handing the young boy the paper, "Here is what is going to happen. Once I raise my hand, you are going to read every word written here. If you add something, cry for help, hesitate, or do anything suspicious at all, your friend will face severe consequences. Do you understand?"</p><p>The idol nodded his head quickly.</p><p>"Good boy. I trust that you will keep to your word, for your friend’s sake." The man then raised his head to look at the rest of the boys, "I expect the same behavior from all of you, or additional consequences will be carried out on one of your members instead! Got it?"</p><p>The rest of them reluctantly agreed while Felix looked over at Minho, feeling more tears fall as his Hyung’s normally teasing smile was gone from his face now decorated in a dark bruise from the slap. Determined to not make him suffer again, Felix waited for the men to give him the signal, while everyone else stared at him, scared to do anything as well, but also wanting to hear what exactly these men were doing.</p><p>He saw the red light of the camera flash on and immediately, dread washed over his body like a hurricane. They were filming this for some reason, and Felix knew it couldn’t be good. Everyone was watching him, some in pity, some neutral, some worried for other reasons while the kidnappers waited in anger and anticipation. </p><p>The main speaker of the group now raised his hand and waited for Felix to do his part, but the shy boy just froze up. There was a lump in his throat, preventing him from being able to say a single thing, that continued grow and grow before he even read the first word of the sentence.</p><p>Noticing some movement from behind the camera, probably to go to Minho, Felix forced down all of his nerves as best as he could before speaking in a shaky voice, "H-hello. By now, you all p-probably know that there are was a suspicious n-number of famous kpop idols missing from the award show last night.  W-well, you can stop your search now. We aren’t simply lost. We’ve b-been kidnapped. Don’t worry, the people who have taken us promised to let us go f-free under one condition. Each of the four companies, BigHit, Pledis, JYP, and KQ e-entertainment must combine to grant us a grand total of,"</p><p>Felix paused. First of all, he wasn’t the best with reading numbers in Korean. It was always one of his weaknesses in learning the language, but second of all, the digits he tried to read really scared him. He knew this number was not going to be small.</p><p>Still stuck in his moment, Felix immediately threw his head up in alarm once he heard a grunt and saw the burly man from before pick up Minho by his hair and punch him in the gut.</p><p>Felix now panicked, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please stop! I’ll continue! It’s my fault! I’m still learning some Korean! Please don’t hurt him!"</p><p> However, the man could care less for the young boy’s pleas and picked up the fallen boy again to continue with what he started. </p><p>That’s when Felix looked down at the paper as he felt sobs wrack his entire body. It was even harder to read the words now that they were blurry with tears, but he had to try. He just had to do it for his Hyung.</p><p>"F-for a total o-of," Felix had to take his best guess. He just prayed to anyone that would listen that it was the right amount, for Minho’s sake, "100 billion ₩."</p><p>Gasps were heard around the room at his announcement. That amount of money takes years to collect! Not to mention the fact that the sum was worth more than the entirety of some of the companies! It was obvious that the bigger companies like Bighit and JYP would have to put in a greater amount, but each company would take a huge hit from that. He couldn’t be correct in that number! Felix had to have made a mistake. </p><p>Unfortunately for them, that was not the case as the men stopped harassing Minho and gestured for the fragile boy, looking too small sitting in that horrid to chair, to continue. However, multiple protests were now being thrown around the room, as mixes of, "That’s too much!" and "You’re insane!" were yelled out loud, but the kidnappers didn’t seem to care as they went around and threatened the struggling boys to shut up if they didn’t want to worsen their punishments for speaking out.</p><p>Felix just sat there, silently crying as he stared at Minho, wanting to run to his brother to comfort and protect him from the whole world, but he needed to keep speaking now, "This s-sum of money will be delivered to a secret location d-determined by the men in charge. You will drop off t-the money quickly and leave it to be picked up b-by someone else. If you bug the container, try to follow us, set out police officers, c-capture the individual picking up the money, or plan any other ridiculous ideas, t-there will be severe consequences."</p><p>Felix knew all too well that their threats should be taken seriously. He then took a deep breath to calm his voice as he finished the note, "The money must be delivered in two days. If it is not," his eyes widened, "Y-you can’t do this!"</p><p>The men just rolled their eyes and took one step towards his Hyung as a threat. Felix felt himself breaking. He would never, in all of his life, say these horrid words, but he had to, for his brother. It was as if every time he spoke, Felix felt himself fall even deeper and deeper into a person he no longer knew, whose only motivation was fear over sense. His sobs could be barely made out into words, "I-If it i-is not, o-one of the i-idols will be k-killed." </p><p>The young boy couldn’t even bring himself to look up from the page to see the paling faces all around the room, "T-this will continue e-every day the d-delivery is late. N-not to mention, t-the living ones w-will know nothing b-but pain and torture."</p><p>He wiped his eyes to finish the note with hopefully some sanity left over, "Additionally, t-the longer you s-stall out these two days, the m-more chances these men will have t-to do with us however they please, so p-please, make it quick."</p><p>Felix was numb to the words at this point and simply wanted to finish with this awful task. He felt some kind of relief leave his body for a moment as he saw the end of the note finally reach his field of vision. That is, until he saw from the corner of his eye, one of the men retrieve a large metal bat that had been laying ignored in the corner of the room by the entrance. He gulped down his worries and just continued with what he needed, not wanting Minho to be on the other side of a possible swing from that bat, "I-it is best for you and us i-idols, that all these directions b-be followed, a-and if you think they are not serious, here’s a-an..." Felix felt worry and confusion wash over him as he read out the last word, "example?"</p><p>The next thing he knew, a loud crashing sound accompanied by multiple deafening screams reached his ears.</p><p>However, Felix didn’t really pay attention to any of that. After all, those weren’t the worst sounds in the room. </p><p>No. The worst one was the crack of someone’s bone as it was now being forcefully broken into two.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What a long chapter! Anyway, who do you think it was at the end!?!! (I’ll give you all a hint, it wasn’t Felix OR Minho!) I guess you guys will have to wait until the next update to find out! I hope you enjoyed this chapter (despite the sad moments), and I’m excited to write more! Much love for you all &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Be Careful What You Wish for</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV Jimin from bts</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jimin was doing everything he could to hold it together. Ever since the tragic events of the award show, it was hard to keep up a positive attitude or even be calm in the slightest. All he, or anyone else in the same situation, could do was focus on the abrupt moments they had just experienced to see if they could remember any details better.</p>
<p>~2 hours ago~</p>
<p>Right now, neither he nor his band mates knew where Jungkook and Namjoon were after they had left to get their mics fixed. When they did, the lights surprisingly shut off and from that point on, all of them had to be evacuated immediately.</p>
<p>Expecting the missing duo to meet up with them at some point, Jimin still saw no signs of them for a long time. There were no updates from their managers, staff members, or security guards. Not even a single phone call was reached. Even though everyone had assured them that there was no issue, and that Jungkook and Namjoon probably left their phones behind to leave for somewhere safe, Jimin couldn’t help but worry.</p>
<p>Honestly, he would probably be more understanding of the situation if he hadn’t heard gunshots. Those deafening sounds were utterly terrifying, even in a huge arena like that, and no one could help their growing worries about family and friends. </p>
<p>When the police officers and medical emergency workers started yelling about individuals who had gotten injured, all of the boys in bts immediately turned their heads in that direction. Jimin himself, rushed over to the line of ambulances to try and catch a glimpse of who was wounded, desperately hoping that it wasn’t Namjoon or Jungkook lying there coldly. Luckily, he didn’t see either of them and assumed that they were uninjured for now, but, before he completely walked away, one group managed to catch his attention.</p>
<p>A band they had seen a lot of and even talked to, Seventeen, seemed to be crowded around a stretcher and pacing by the back entrance of one of the ambulances. Jimin could only guess that maybe one of their band mates had been hurt, but he couldn’t tell who it was with the members scattered everywhere and blending in with the mess.</p>
<p>Walking back over to his group, Jimin had tears of fright and concern collecting within his eyes, leaving Taehyung, equally stressed out but a little bit better at holding it in than his fellow 95-liner, to come over to him and give the stressed boy a big hug. He continually ran his hands through the soft strands of the shorter boy’s hair and whispered gently, "It’s okay. It’s okay. They will be all right."</p>
<p>Despite his best friend’s attempt of calming him down, Jimin just knew that against his best wishes, something was definitely wrong. Running to his older hyungs, he begged both Yoongi and Jin to ask their manager if they could visit the police department just in case. Jimin insisted that even though they didn’t know if it was an emergency, they had to keep their focus on the missing duo first and foremost.</p>
<p>The two oldest eventually agreed, and after swaying their manager some more, the boys were granted a trip to the police station to hopefully get some answers.</p>
<p>~30 minutes ago~</p>
<p>Once they arrived at their destination, the group, of now only five members, was escorted to a certain room in the back by a tall, calculated man who went by Officer Kim. He went over the situation and even mentioned that two other idol groups seemed to have the same issue. Jimin had no idea whether or not to consider that good or bad news.</p>
<p>Opening the door, they saw Seventeen, whom Jimin watched sadly from before, and another group who they soon recognized as Stray Kids look over at them in a somber tone, getting up to bow in greeting.</p>
<p>The three groups then talked about what happened, beginning with Seungcheol who had the worst news about one of his members, Junhui, having gotten shot in the shoulder, and at that, the other members either looked away in shame or sadness, trying to hold themselves together from such a terrible accident.</p>
<p>Once they were done sharing, the boys of bts had realized that Stray Kids were simply in the same situation as them with only two of their members missing, but none harmed (or at least, that they knew of).</p>
<p>With the groups revealing similar stories, aside from Junhui, Jimin had no idea whether to be frightened beyond belief or a little comforted by the idea that others were having a similar issue. Part of himself wanted to stay hopeful and happy with the notion that they all had gotten confused with multiple idols missing, and that the problem was simply a common one to be solved soon. However, he still had that evil, doubtful voice singing in his head about being realistic. Saying that if one member out of the missing ones came back with a gunshot wound, just like what scared them all in the beginning, then that means nothing good is awaiting the others.</p>
<p>As he sat in silence, slightly listening to the ongoing conversation while also reminiscing about his lost leader and maknae, a fourth group joined them who introduced themselves as Ateez. With information just like the rest, Jimin felt himself get more and more on edge as they waited for an explanation.</p>
<p>~current time~</p>
<p>With a clear picture of their last moments with Kookie and Namjoon in his head, Jimin watched with careful eyes as the officers, who had just received a strange email, excused themselves from the room to quickly review the sudden news they had been sent. Normally the boys would be annoyed that the police officers disregarded them again to attend something else, but this time, no one said anything as they saw the paling face of the lead officer. The other man in charge followed behind him with a confused expression, leaving the idols alone to marinate in their own negative thoughts.</p>
<p>With silence now taking over the room, Hoseok suddenly decided to break it, “Did everyone else see the worrisome expression on his face?”</p>
<p>They all shook their heads ‘yes’ in reassurance before Hongjoong said something as well, “Do you think it’s about them?”</p>
<p>His own member, Yunho answered back, “I seriously hope not. I don’t think I can handle any more bad news tonight.”</p>
<p>Everyone else silently nodded their head in agreement, only wanting to find their missing brothers and be done with this whole mess. </p>
<p>With nothing else to say again, they all either fell into the deep confines of their own minds or tried to comfort members that were physically distressed and needed some help with calming down. However, a few small words from Jihoon of Seventeen caught some of their attention, “Have they said anything about Jun-hyung?”</p>
<p>Wonwoo shook his head in confirmation, “Yes. They said he is still in surgery right now and that the doctors shouldn’t have any more issues since he arrived on time to receive enough blood for recovery, but we aren’t in the clear just yet.” </p>
<p>Jihoon nodded slowly, feeling a little better than before, but still nervous. However, before Jimin tore his eyes away from the group, he saw Jihoon look at Seungcheol in a strange way before the latter took in a breath and looked toward the whole group. With a shaky voice, he began by saying, "Junhui had actually told me something before he passed out in the ambulance. Something that I think is very important to this situation, but I still don’t know how."</p>
<p>With every eye in the room now on him, Seungcheol was about to announce what he had heard until the two officers barged back into the room with a foreboding feeling surrounding them.</p>
<p> All the boys now waited anxiously for the officers to begin speaking, wanting to know if the news they had gotten not too long ago had anything to do with their members. In their minds, any news was better than no news. </p>
<p>Oh, how those boys would learn that they were very wrong.</p>
<p>Officer Kim started it off, "I’m very sorry to tell you all this, but the email I had just received involved your missing colleagues, and unfortunately, it proved to be a much more dangerous and complicated situation than we had previously thought."</p>
<p>Despite the dreadful meaning behind those words, all of the boys simply needed to know what had happened. If the horrors they had imagined in their heads were better or worse than the actual reality.</p>
<p>The officer continued speaking, "It appears this whole incident was brought on by one of the biggest gangs in all of South Korea."</p>
<p>Everyone could now feel their heartbeat trying to break through their chest.</p>
<p>"This gang in particular controlled about half of the underground activity in this country. After 20 years of investigation and undercover work, we were finally able to snuff out a majority of the members within the gang, taking over nearly all of their stock products and stored profits. The only task we had left was to capture the lead men in charge. With their assets and money gone, we thought it wouldn’t take much effort until they were found out and charged. However, it seemed as if they figured the same.”</p>
<p> Since the idols did not completely understand what the connection was between a gang and their missing members, the officer finally concluded what this all meant, “Basically, they needed to make fast money to escape and possibly leave this country for another. To do so, they would have to leave without being traced and have enough financial support to start a life somewhere else. With their intelligence skills and last-minute resources, it is our best guess that this group had managed to cause the entire power outage at the award show. With a disaster distracting everyone, they were able to sneak in and kidnap the idols who had been separated from your groups. Taking such important figures, they could demand a ransom to your companies in exchange for their lives, granting the ex-gang members more than enough money to leave South Korea with a life of luxury and freedom.”</p>
<p>Letting all of the news sink in, Jimin barely heard the voice of Chan break through his ringing ears, "How do you know all of this, sir?"</p>
<p>Jimin could tell the boy was trying to be polite, yet the underlying worry and demand to know what was happening laid right underneath his tone.</p>
<p>Everyone looked at the two men in anticipation, but instead of receiving an answer, the officers just glanced towards one another in hesitation. They obviously knew something else but were holding back for some reason. Jimin wasn’t sure if he would want to know or not, but at this point, it didn’t matter if they wanted the information. They simply needed it.</p>
<p>“The email we were sent contained a video describing the ransom for the idols back."</p>
<p>Everyone straightened up in attention as Chan questioned the officers again, "Was there anything about our members? Were they there?"</p>
<p>The man sighed, knowing he couldn’t lie to the boys, but that the truth was much more than they could handle, “Yes, it appears that only one was shown, probably for security, but it is not good. Although you all have the right to watch it as well, I highly suggest you do not.”</p>
<p>All the boys then looked at each other. Across the table were expressions of fear, grief, panic, and some anger, but most of all, desperation. No matter what dominant emotion each group member had playing along in their head, they all felt the obligation to watch whatever had become of their family. </p>
<p>As the leader of the second oldest group, Seungcheol spoke for them all, “I think all of us can agree that we would like to see that video. I know you advise against it, but not knowing isn’t an option for us anymore.”</p>
<p>The man looked disappointed but obeyed the demand, nonetheless. He asked his partner to retrieve his computer so that he could wait with the anxious boys. </p>
<p>“Trust me, I know you want to have all the information, but there are some things you cannot come back from, especially since you have such a strong bond with these individuals. It is easier for people, such as myself and Officer Choi, to watch a video like this because we have no connection with them and it is our job, but you all will struggle. I’ve been in this situation many times before, and normally, it doesn’t end very well.”</p>
<p>Surprisingly, it was Hongjoong who now responded to him, “With all due respect Officer Kim, if our members are going through something horribly tragic, we need to be there for them. We all know this video isn’t going to be pleasant, but for the sake of our brothers, we need to watch.”</p>
<p>With everyone agreeing to what the young leader said, the officer shook his head respectively and waited for Choi to return. </p>
<p>In only a few seconds, the other man came into the room with his computer in hand. The idol groups watched in apprehension as the officer opened his device and promptly got to the page containing their objective. Looking up at the boys once more, he asked, “Are you all sure?”</p>
<p>Without hesitation, they shook their heads in fearful confidence to confirm the same answer they had told him before. Having given them their last chance to back out, the man turned his computer around and pressed play. </p>
<p>—————</p>
<p>The now black screen froze in front of their faces accompanied by an overwhelming silence that seemed like the only bit of life that was left in the room. Between the news of the kidnapping, having watched the wretched video, and now knowing the unbelievable amount of money they had to trade for the lives of their friends, no one could speak. Honestly, they had nowhere to even begin. </p>
<p>Even though Jimin barely knew the boy, Felix’s crying face could never be erased from the depths of their minds. Not only that, but the deafening scream accompanied by some sort of cracking noise was not a good sign and emphasized for the boys that this was something of a nightmare. Jimin was only a little relieved that he couldn’t recognize the scream as belonging to Jungkook or Namjoon, but that did not stop him from worrying for their safety and distressing over the endangered well-being of the others who already seemed to be hurt. </p>
<p>Looking over at Stray Kids, the only group who got to see one of their members, Jimin couldn’t tell whether their leader, Bang Chan, was about to break down in tears or punch the table they were sitting at in absolute anger. Next to him, two of the other members had completely broken down during the video and had to be comforted by others who were equally horrified but didn’t show it. </p>
<p>Jimin had never even met the small boy speaking for the kidnappers in that sickening video, but he was already crying for him. He feared the desperation in his weakened voice, the way he struggled to say what they wanted, and how he panicked, while in a state of complete shock, and begged the gang members not to hurt whoever was being tortured behind the camera. </p>
<p>Checking over the other groups as well, Jimin noticed that Seungcheol hung his head low while another member, Seungkwan, had new tears falling down his face in despair. Before anyone could even speak up about what they saw, Seungcheol said one name, “Mingyu.”</p>
<p>That name seemed to have an effect on an already emotional Seungkwan, making the boy bury his head into the crook on Wonwoo’s neck, who had been sitting next to him in frozen silence. </p>
<p>“What?” Officer Kim wanted, along with everyone else in the room, to know why Seungcheol was saying that name. </p>
<p>“That scream. It was Mingyu.”</p>
<p>No one knew what to say after that. Hearing the pained scream was one thing but knowing who was behind it was another. Jimin could only imagine the guilt they must have been experiencing and felt himself get angry. No one here had anything to do with them being taken, yet each and every one of the boys still felt the need to take on an unfair amount of responsibility for the situation. </p>
<p>Chan just kept his jaw clenched, eyes furiously set on the table as he muttered his next question, “Why him?”</p>
<p>Understanding what he meant, Officer Kim tried to answer as best as he could, “We were wondering the same thing. At first, it would seem normal to think Felix was picked randomly, but knowing the tactics of these specific groups, we thought there could be another reason.”</p>
<p>Thinking it over for a bit, Officer Choi suddenly spoke up, “How old is he?”</p>
<p>Chan looked up in annoyed confusion, “What does that have to do with anything?” </p>
<p>His harsh tone seemed to go over the heads of the officers, as if they were expecting a response like that, “I understand your anger, but if we want to know why your member was the only one pictured, then you need to answer this one question.”</p>
<p>Chan took a deep breath to calm himself, Changbin rubbing his hand across the leader’s back in comfort despite the silent tears streaming down his face almost invisibly, and answered, “He’s 20.” </p>
<p>The officer nodded in appreciation for the response before addressing them all, “Are any of the other boys that were taken younger than that?”</p>
<p>All of them shook their heads ‘no,’ confirming the second-in-command’s suspicion, “This may only be a guess, but by looking at all of the groups, Lee Felix would most likely be less confident in his leadership skills, possibly because of his age and experience. That being said, using the youngest of the group to relay the message could be a form of gaining more sympathy and causing panic. If someone else were to speak, for example Kim Namjoon, his position as an elder leader would have made the video seem more controlled and collected despite his anxiety, going against what the kidnappers wanted to portray.”  </p>
<p>With everyone considering Officer Choi’s calculated observation, Hyunjin, who had been silent throughout the whole ordeal, seemed to suddenly explode, “Well that’s just great that you figured that out, but what the fuck are we supposed to do now?! I just watched as my little brother was traumatized and psychologically tortured by these sick men, begging for them to stop what they were doing, with no one to save him! On top of that, I have no idea whether or not Minho-hyung is even okay, but by the sound of Felix’s voice, I can guess he’s not. Now, the only choice of saving them is by handing over an unthinkable amount of money!”</p>
<p>Before the officers could ask him to relax and take a seat, Chan had already stood up and softly spoke to his distressed member, “Hey Hyunjin, I know you are stressed along with us, but yelling won’t help. We need to try and stay focused, for Minho and Felix.”</p>
<p>The mention of the missing boys’ names immediately calmed him down enough that Hyunjin could take a seat and lean on an emotional Seungmin for support. </p>
<p>Even though Chan had sounded undisturbed while talking to his dongsaeng, when he turned back around to face the policemen, his demeanor had switched back to a passionate tenacity, “That being said, we will stop at nothing to get them back. I don’t care if we flip this whole city upside down, I refuse to watch one of my members, who I had promised to protect as a leader, be further traumatized!” Before Chan’s demand had ended, he added in one last thought that uncovered the true pain he had been feeling underneath the disguise of anger, “I just can’t watch that again. Especially those two. I failed them once before, and I won’t do it again.”</p>
<p>With everyone else looking at the group in pity, Officer Kim walked over to the almost broken-down boy and placed a supportive hand on his shoulder, “I promise you all, we will make a plan, and we will get them back.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well that was emotional (especially with what Chan said in the end when he’s really just the best leader and needs to accept that!!!)<br/>Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, and I wish you all had the best holidays!! (and even if you didn't celebrate anything, I still hope you had a good week!)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Making Plans</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Two POVs: Taehyung and Seonghwa</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Taehyung's POV)</p>
<p>The only things stopping Taehyung from completely breaking down was the desire to stay strong for his remaining members and the simple refusal to believe that whatever had transpired back there was actually real.</p>
<p> Watching that video had felt like a fever dream: as if it never truly happened. Taehyung felt awful for both Seventeen and Stray Kids since they either saw or heard the horrors affecting their own members. As for himself, his mind wouldn’t even allow him to think of what could have happened to Kookie or Namjoon. If they weren’t featured in the video at all, that should mean that they aren’t hurt, or at least, that’s what he likes to tell himself. However, if he wishes to keep it that way, then they needed to do whatever the kidnappers requested, and Taehyung was willing. He knows he should focus on a more practical decision and leave it to the professionals, but all he truly wanted right now was to get his little brother and leader back safely, along with every other idol taken.</p>
<p>Needing a break from all of his scattered thoughts, Taehyung decided to leave the room for a breath of fresh air. The rest of the groups had been doing the same. Some boys, such as Jisung and Jeongin from Stray Kids, went to the restroom to calm themselves down from crying so badly. Others had merely gone outside as a distraction while the rest remained in the room, either talking to each other to stay sane or staring off into space, not registering anything going on around them at all. </p>
<p>Walking outside, Taehyung had surprisingly found Seungkwan standing to the left of the doorway, gazing down at a blank phone screen. Both bts and Seventeen knew each other pretty well, so he decided to walk over to the other boy to comfort him, knowing that it was difficult to know that not only one, but two of his members were injured. </p>
<p>As he approached the other boy with open arms, Taehyung suddenly froze when Seungkwan spoke in a monotone voice, “I’ve been standing here for several minutes just staring at my phone.”</p>
<p>“Seungkwa—”</p>
<p>The boy started laughing, not in an enjoyable way, but as if he was already losing his mind, “I told my group that I would let those at the hospital know what is going on since Seungcheol-hyung is putting too much pressure on himself, but I can’t even open my phone.” </p>
<p>Watching as more and more tears fell onto the black surface of his mobile, Taehyung just let Seungkwan unpack all of his thoughts, "I know they are desperate to be clued in, but I just can’t bring myself to do anything. Why can’t I do anything?"</p>
<p>Taehyung didn’t hold back anymore as he rushed in to hug the shaking boy. He not only teared up seeing his friend cry with despair, but for seeing himself in Seungkwan. Right now, he just wanted to give up as well and go back in time to when he could hear the best advice from a comforting Namjoon or listen to the little laugh of Jungkook trying to cheer up his hyungs. </p>
<p>He even questioned himself as Seungkwan did. Asking why it hadn’t been him taken over Jungkook or Namjoon. Why he couldn’t do anything other than just sit by, stuck with doing nothing as his family was hurting.</p>
<p>Despite all the regrets and longings running through his head, Taehyung knew that this was not the time to reminisce on what was. It was time to focus on what is, and his friend needed help to stay on that determined path as well, “I’m so sorry Seungkwan. This whole situation will be hard on all of us, but you don’t need to do this alone.”</p>
<p>The younger just looked up at him, teary eyes shining in the artificial light of the hallway they were standing in as Taehyung continued, “I know we are all dealing with this situation differently, but we are doing it together. I couldn’t even imagine the pressure you must be feeling with sharing this news, so why not just wait until you talk with them personally, or” Taehyung lifted up the boy’s hand, gripping the phone with him in a secure hold, “I can call them with you.” </p>
<p>Seungkwan looked at his fellow idol, a twinge of hope finally reaching his face for the first time throughout this whole, overwhelming night, “You really mean that?”</p>
<p>“Of course. Now we can either do it now, or you can wait a little longer after heading back inside.”</p>
<p>Seungkwan eventually agreed to the second option, but not before giving Taehyung a big hug in appreciation. Even though they hadn’t been through anything like this before, they knew that from now on, they always had the help of one another.</p>
<p>Finishing up with their much needed moment together, both boys wiped away their thick tears to prepare themselves to retreat back into the room that housed the beginning of their nightmares, but also held the people they needed most. Seungkwan headed straight for his members, telling them the plan as to how he would inform the others of what was going on while Taehyung returned to his original seat as well, slinging an arm around Jimin to support them both during this trying time.</p>
<p>Not long after the two boys came back, Officer Kim entered in as well, making everyone wait impatiently for him to share any new updates, “Well, we are working hard to do what we can, but it is now 11 o’clock. I think you boys should go home and get some rest.”</p>
<p>At that, Seungcheol immediately stood up, “So does that mean we are supposed to do nothing and merely fall asleep while our members are up suffering?!”</p>
<p>Realizing what he might have accidentally hinted at, Kim tried to level the situation, “That’s not what I meant. I simply want you all to take a small break and gain back your energy since there isn’t much you can do right now. However, that doesn’t mean nothing is being done. I, along with Officer Choi and many other agents, will be working our hardest every hour over the next few days to find any way around this ransom, but I promise you that getting all of the idols back safely is our uppermost priority.”</p>
<p>Taking an understanding to the effort the officers had been trying to put in, Seungcheol stepped down for a bit to center himself. However, the silence didn’t last long as Hoseok wanted to know if they had gotten any more information, “Well, do you have any idea as to what’s going on right now.”</p>
<p>“We are trying to figure out our options and contact your CEOs. The kidnappers sent specifics of the location and time of the drop-off, so we have until then to figure the rest out.”</p>
<p>“Which is?” Hoseok tried to lead him on to disclose more.</p>
<p>"They gave us two days from today at exactly 9 a.m., so the drop-off will take place the day after tomorrow. It’s located at a small closed down area called Civic park, about 30 minutes away from where we are now.” </p>
<p>With the current situation sinking in, Taehyung finally asked something in front of them all, “I know we can’t do much, but could some of us at least stay here, just in case?”</p>
<p>Mulling it over for a few seconds, Kim eventually agreed, “I won’t stop you. If some of you would like to remain here, and possibly help with a few things, I’ll allow it, but not everyone can stay. You’ll have to choose some, if not all, to leave.”</p>
<p>Everyone then nodded their heads in understanding with Taehyung turning to his own group to make a decision, “Well, what should we do?”</p>
<p>Yoongi, who had been quite for most of the time, spoke up first, “Even if we should sleep, I don’t think I will be able to. I’ll ask the officers if there is anyway for us to help. However, some of us should take this chance to rest, so who, if any, would like to stay with me, and who would prefer to go home for now and wait for updates in the morning?”</p>
<p>Every member responded the same, “I’ll stay.”</p>
<p>To say he wasn’t surprised by that answer would be an understatement. Yoongi rolled his eyes, more in fondness than actual irritation, before he told them again, “Look, as Officer Kim said, we won’t be able to do much anyway. We should instead plan out shifts for each of us to take breaks to rest and then switch with the others to stay alert for any information. That means that some of us need to go home now.”</p>
<p>Looking around the group with reluctant gazes, Taehyung was the first to state his desired position, “I think I should stay with Yoongi-hyung. I also promised I would help Seungkwan with something later."</p>
<p>As Yoongi nodding his head in agreement, Jin took his chance to volunteer as well, “I’ll stay too. Jimin and Hobi, you both should get some sleep. We will call you in the morning with any new details and let you both know when you can come in to take our place.”</p>
<p>Jimin seemed severely hesitant to take up the offer, but Taehyung stopped him, making sure his brother knew that it was all okay for now, “Don’t worry, we got this. You both need to rest. It’s what Kookie and Namjoon-hyung would want.”</p>
<p>With one last reassuring statement from their members, Hoseok and Jimin finally agreed to their arrangement and headed towards the entrance, along with some of the other idols who had to leave as well.</p>
<p> Taking one final glance behind them, both boys gave the remaining members encouraging smiles for support. However, it was unfortunate that those smiles couldn’t truly reach their eyes as they remained worried for the unknown future lying ahead.</p>
<p>—————</p>
<p>(the next morning, Seonghwa’s POV) </p>
<p>No one had gotten a good night’s sleep. Honestly, with no available source of natural light, none of them even knew that the night had come and gone. </p>
<p>Right now, things couldn’t look much worse. Felix, who had been silently crying on and off all night to the point where everyone was worried he would get a serious headache, refused to let go of Minho. The older boy had to constantly reassure him that his injuries were not the younger’s fault, yet Felix refused to feel anything but guilt. </p>
<p>On the other side, Hansol was exhausted as he was currently dealing with two serious injuries inflicted onto both of his members. Jeonghan insisted that he could aid with patching up Mingyu, but Hansol was too worried for the boy since he could still barely speak without feeling a tremendous amount of pain arising from his swollen throat grating against itself. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Hansol had also been helping Mingyu fix up his broken leg, removing the jacket he had been wearing that night and tying it around the distorted appendage for stability. Jungkook had even tossed over his own coat as well, wanting to help his close friend in any way possible.</p>
<p>Poor Mingyu tried to let everyone know that he was okay, but with that injury, they all knew he was lying. Especially when he would try to move his body even an inch and eventually bite his lip in an effort to not cry out in pain. </p>
<p>With hope slowly dying out, along with everyone’s awareness, Seonghwa finally spoke up, “What do we do now?”</p>
<p>It was Hansol that answered him first, “What do you mean?”</p>
<p>Jungkook, always a tough soul, helped Seonghwa out with his intentional question, “Well, we either sit here and do nothing, waiting for our companies make an agreement that might not even be possible to uphold, or we can plan something.”</p>
<p>Hansol was weary about the suggestion, “You heard what they said about that, right? We endanger everyone here if we try that, especially our group members. How can escape be realistic?”</p>
<p>Namjoon, trying to use his smarts, attempted to suggest that, “Maybe if the same group was able to escape—” but Hansol interrupted, too worried for what this plan could cause, “Look at what has already happened to us! Jeonghan-hyung can barely speak and Mingyu-hyung can’t even walk right now. Not to mention, Minho probably can’t move either, and Felix is scared half-to-death to do anything.”</p>
<p>Even though the young member of Seventeen brought up sensible points, Jungkook wouldn’t give up, “Are we just going to sit around and do nothing then?!”</p>
<p>“Let’s just say that all of us do agree to this plan. First of all, you both would have to make it or the other one is dead. Secondly, it would either have to be you guys, or Wooyoung and Seonghwa to attempt it, leaving the rest of us here. Now, I know you all would do whatever it takes to save us, but what happens when the men get angry and decide to take it out those left? I just don’t think we can risk that.” After his speech, Hansol looked at his pained members, knowing he couldn’t watch them struggle again.</p>
<p>“We don’t even know what the police are planning right now. We could be freed through them, but we shouldn’t just throw out the idea of—” </p>
<p>Before Jungkook could finish, the entrance slowly creaked open, and immediately everyone stopped talking as two men walked in: the ‘assumed to be’ leader, holding a mysterious bag, and the muscular guy. </p>
<p>“I really hope you were discussing something mundane like the weather before we walked in and nothing stupid that could get you all into a world of hurt.”</p>
<p>With silence being his only response, the man snickered before taking something out of the bag he had been carrying and approaching the group closest to him: Seventeen. </p>
<p>With memories of what had happened last time still fresh in their minds, Jeonghan hugged Mingyu close to him in fear while Hansol put himself in front of them for protection. The man, however, just rolled his eyes before dropping a small object wrapped up in foil in front of the group. </p>
<p>Everyone just watched as he continued with this, giving something to all the bands before he stood by his colleague, “It’s not going to explode, it’s just food. Now hurry up and eat if you are hungry.”</p>
<p>Before he left, the brave voice of Namjoon spoke up, “But sir, there is only one sandwich per group.”</p>
<p>The leader just rolled his eyes once more, "I can count, stupid. You’ll just have to share or something. You won’t starve.”</p>
<p>Carrying on with his uncaring demeanor, both men turned to leave before the leader suddenly gave them all a wicked smile over his shoulder, “However, you all should savor it because this is the only meal you will get today, and you’ll definitely need energy for what’s to come tomorrow.”</p>
<p>With that, he finally slammed the door closed, leaving the restrained boys with a dreadful feeling. However, they didn’t want to focus on only miserable things anymore and instead distracted themselves with splitting up their food. </p>
<p>The first thing they all heard was Felix’s refusal to eat, insisting that Minho needed it more, and that he wasn’t hungry. </p>
<p>Seonghwa knew that was a lie.</p>
<p>They were all very hungry, especially ones that might be dieting right now, but everyone would be making sacrifices for one another at this point. Picking up the sandwich given to him and Wooyoung, Seonghwa handed the whole thing over to his dongsaeng, “Here, you can have it.”</p>
<p>The boy just looked up at him in disbelief, "Hyung, don’t be ridiculous. We can both have half, and no complaining! I won’t eat if you won’t eat.”</p>
<p>However, Seonghwa insisted, “Wooyoung, this is the only thing that will make me happy. I don’t want to see you hungry, so please, take it.”</p>
<p>Against his wishes, the younger boy still wouldn’t budge, his fiery personality coming back little by little, "And what about you? I know you are my hyung, but I can’t just let you take care of me and forget about yourself. Here." Wooyoung immediately took the fast-food burger and ripped it in half, crossing his arms in refusal to let Seonghwa even consider giving his share back again. The older simply smiled at the boy’s stubborn antics before accepting his piece to finally take a small bite.</p>
<p>With all the boys sitting in silence as they ate what they could, Hansol brought up their previous conversation to let them know what he was thinking, “For now, I say we should stay quiet. The police are probably planning something to save us and catch these guys, and right now, that is our only chance. We aren’t alone in this.”</p>
<p>Even though he sounded confident, there was that teensy-weensy possibility that things might not go as planned.</p>
<p>“And what happens when we do end up alone?” It was Minho who had said something this time, stunning them all.</p>
<p>With an emphasis on the word, “If,” Hansol gave his final response, with everyone ultimately in agreement, “If this all ends up in our hands, then we will do whatever we need to.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter is leading up to the money drop-off!! Things will get even crazier from there! (btw the park is completely made up. I just needed an abandoned place)<br/>I love reading all of your amazing comments, and thanks for everyone’s support of this story &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Preparations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV Jisoo from Seventeen</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Have you heard anything back?”</p>
<p>“Not yet. They haven’t given us any updates in an hour. Last thing Wonwoo told me was that they had made it to the police station.”</p>
<p>Hearing Jisoo give the same news as before, everyone in the room simply nodded and went back to whatever task they had been trying to distract themselves with. Right now, Chan and Seokmin had been pacing the hospital room alongside Jisoo while Minghao and Soonyoung were seated next to Junhui who was still unconscious on the bed next to them. His surgery had finished not too long ago, and so far, everything went well. The last step to fully determine his condition was for the boy to finally wake up, but the doctors advised that it might not happen in a few hours, perhaps a day since his body would be worn out. </p>
<p>“They are probably just busy. I’m sure we will hear something soon.”</p>
<p>Trying to retain some faith in his maknae’s reassuring statement, Jisoo moved over to the hospital bed where his other dongsaeng had been peacefully sleeping, “I really hope so. I don’t think we can take on anymore problems.”</p>
<p>Saying that made him instantly think of those missing. Jeonghan is his best friend and was consistently there to encourage him as they had the shared responsibility of being two of the eldest in the group. His guidance always seemed to be what Jisoo needed, and even the older's playful pestering made him smile. Then, there was Mingyu. His younger brother could initially be intimidating in height and looks, but once he smiled, everyone could see that he was simply a lovable puppy who tried his best in lighting up everyone's day around him. Lastly, was the second youngest, Hansol. As the only other fluent English speaker in the group, Jisoo obviously grew a special connection with the boy as they relied on each other for a source of support and familiarity. </p>
<p>Thinking of those three, the older boy couldn’t even begin to imagine life without their comforting presence, and he prayed to whoever would listen that this was all just small issue and nothing more. </p>
<p>Just as the Jisoo was about to take a seat on the opposite side of Junhui’s bed to wait, either for their injured brother to wake up or to hear news from the others, his phone rang with the contact name ‘Seungkwan’ reflecting expectantly in the his eyes, “Seungkwan! How is everything?”</p>
<p>Rather than recognizing the normally cheerful mood of his energetic member, Jisoo was greeted with a shy, shaky voice, “H-Hi, Hyung.”</p>
<p>Sensing the obvious worry in his tone, Jisoo’s concern increased tenfold, “What’s wrong?” </p>
<p>Everyone else in the room, who had slightly gathered around the older boy in an effort to know what was going on, now felt their stomachs turn in fear from the mysterious question. Not wanting to trouble his already distressed members, Jisoo excused himself to go outside, wanting to talk privately so that he would know what to tell his members without their eyes staring holes into his head in anticipation.  </p>
<p>Despite complaining about the older leaving when they could finally be getting some answers, the boys eventually gave into to his wish after Jisoo promised to update them right away with what he heard and that he simply didn’t want to possibly disturb the silence, for Junhui’s sake. Finally walking out into the mostly empty hallway, Jisoo asked for Seungkwan to continue with what he was saying, desperately wanting to know what was going on with their three missing members. </p>
<p>“W-Well, s-s-something bad h-happened…”</p>
<p>The older felt his heart drop. Not only was this night stressful enough with Junhui in critical condition, but now, it has been confirmed that his other brothers were not actually safe. Jisoo felt at war with himself. He wasn’t sure if his mind could handle any more bad news, but at the same time, he had to know, not only for himself but for the other members who now depended on him. </p>
<p>Taking a deep breath, Jisoo proceeded with reassuring his dongsaeng on the other side of the phone, “Seungkwan, it’s okay. You can tell me.”</p>
<p>Despite his effort to comfort the younger boy, Seungkwan still couldn’t speak. Choked sounds of tears could be heard through the speaker before another slightly familiar voice suddenly appeared, “Hello Joshua-ssi. This is Taehyung from BTS.”</p>
<p>Jisoo was now completely and utterly confused by the unexpected arrival of someone else. Specifically, another idol, “Taehyung-ssi? Why are you with Seungkwan? What’s going on?”</p>
<p>Absorbing the great amount of questions Jisoo was throwing at him, Taehyung took a moment to try and settle down the other boy before speaking. Getting as close to calm as he could, the BTS member then began to update him on everything that was happening, causing Jisoo’s mind to fall faster and faster into the darkness of despair that this new horrible reality had created. </p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>Jisoo went out into the hallway of the hospital to get some more coffee. It was now around noon of the next day, and Junhui still hadn’t woken up. Honestly, without having gotten any sleep from last night, Jisoo shouldn’t be consuming anything else to energize himself, but he wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. His head was simply full of the terrors that now haunted their group, ranging from Junhui’s injury, to the three missing members' unknown conditions, and the sickening news that Mingyu had a broken leg inflicted by the kidnappers. With all of that, Jisoo had no room to think of anything else other than them.</p>
<p>“Couldn’t sleep?”</p>
<p>The boy suddenly turned around to find Seungcheol standing next to him, “No. Tried to, but too much was going on in my head.”</p>
<p>The leader simply nodded, thoroughly understanding where the other was coming from since he was in the same exact situation as well. Seungcheol and Seungkwan had actually arrived at the hospital earlier that morning to check up on everything and see Junhui. They also came to tell some of the members to go home and get some rest, but no one jumped up at the offer. Junhui could wake up at any point, and they all wanted to be there for it. However, the hospital told them that not every member could stay at the same time, and only a maximum of four could remain there. Reluctantly, Seungkwan, Soonyoung, and Chan left not too long ago since they were the ones chosen to get as much rest as they could manage.</p>
<p>“Are you going to stay here, or find out what more has been happening at the police station?”</p>
<p>Jisoo had already spent all night at the hospital and desperately wanted to be there when Junhui awoke, but at the same time, he wanted to be involved in what was being planned at the station. After all, the drop-off was supposed to occur tomorrow morning, and he wanted to be informed about everything that would be going on since it severely affected the well-being of their three missing members, “Well—”</p>
<p>Before Jisoo could even begin sharing his thought process with Seungcheol, a crowd of nurses and doctors rushed past them in a bustling hurry. Waiting to see where they were going, both boys’ eyes widened in panic as the medical workers turned to enter Junhui’s room. </p>
<p>Forgetting all about their conversation and the crappy coffee Jisoo had gone out to get, the duo ran after them to see what was happening. Why was the staff panicked? Was their younger brother awake? Did something bad happen with his recovery? A million thoughts went through their heads as they rushed into the entrance, seeing a bunch of people crowded around the bed that Junhui had been laying in. Since they couldn’t see the boy clearly, Jisoo looked around the room to see if he could find any of the other members who had been with him. Spotting Minghao, who had an unreadable expression painted across his faced, Jisoo raced over to him, “Minghao, what happened?”</p>
<p>Said boy didn’t even acknowledge his hyung’s presence. He simply stared at the where Junhui was laid while attempting to answer his brother’s question, “Jun-h-hyung, h-he’s awake.”</p>
<p>Feeling his heart slowly lighten at the good news, Jisoo almost forgot to listen to what Minghao said next, “b-but he’s scared. H-his eyes, they were so panicked. Then he just s-s-started screaming.” Minghao finally looked up at Jisoo with big, teary eyes, allowing the older's mind to finally sink in with the situation.</p>
<p>Now knowing the details, Jisoo listened in on what was going on. Amongst the calls of assistance and orders from the staff, he could hear the voice of Junhui as he repeatedly yelled, “STOP! STOP! Where are they?! I need to help them! Let go!”</p>
<p> It took all Jisoo had not to run to the boy’s side and calm him down, but he knew that would only be getting in the way of the hospital workers who were doing what they could. </p>
<p>“If he doesn’t calm down right now, he could rip the stitches. Hurry and get the sedative.”</p>
<p>Ease dropping on the doctor’s orders, Seungcheol immediately approached the man with anger, “You’re going to make him fall back asleep after just now waking up? Are you crazy? We want to talk with our brother right now!”</p>
<p>Glancing at a nurse next to him, the doctor nodded for her to explain the situation to the on-edge boys as he continued with helping the newly awakened one, “I know you are worried for him and want to talk with your friend, but he won’t calm down. Just as the doctor said, he is at risk of damaging the stitches and making his injury worse. If you want what is best for him, please stand back and let us do our job.”</p>
<p>Despite their remaining resentment towards the suggestion, Seungcheol slowly stepped back to let the professionals do what they had to. It was killing them not to go to Junhui and comfort their poor member, who was still begging for help, but they didn’t want for the boy to accidentally hurt himself more. </p>
<p>Just at the medical team slowed down in their movements, Jisoo, along with the other anxious boys, watched through the spaces in between the workers as Junhui's eyes slowly drooped closed, none of them knowing if he had even recognized his members standing right there for support.</p>
<p>After a few more minutes, most of the emergency staff had exited the room with only one nurse remaining to check on his vitals and the injuries, “I’m very sorry we had to do that. Your friend seemed to be having a panic attack and refused to calm down, something that is common in those who have experienced recent trauma. We will most likely have to restrain his injured arm now so that when he does wake up again, he won’t be able to damage his injury, and we can take our time in caring for him with you all actually having the chance to talk with your friend.”</p>
<p>Appreciating the nurse’s patient explanation, the members thanked her for helping and even apologized for getting in the way. The woman just shrugged it off, saying that the response was completely understandable.  </p>
<p>Once she was finished with her tasks, the nurse left as well, leaving Minghao to take the same spot next to Junhui he had been sitting at for hours and hold the other's still hand. Seokmin took the chair on the other side and stared at their, once again, unconscious brother with tired yet concerned eyes. Both Seungcheol and Jisoo wanted to sit around and do the same, simply waiting for their beloved brother to wake up in the comfort of his family, but there were still matters that needed to be sorted out, both at the hospital and the police station. </p>
<p>Jisoo was the first one to speak up, “Well, where should we go now?”</p>
<p>“Wonwoo and Jihoon have stayed at the police station all night. I don’t know if they are too tired to go home or not. I’ll ask everyone what they want to do here, and you can text those at home.” </p>
<p>Nodding his head in agreement, Jisoo went to message the other members before making his own decision. It wasn’t the first time he had to step up with Seungcheol to take care of the younger members, but it was his first time without Jeonghan. Trying to keep that painful thought out of his mind, Jisoo finally knew what he had to do and waited for Seungcheol to finish talking with Minghao and Seokmin, “I can head over to the police station to help the other two in dealing with the police. You can stay here for the others.”</p>
<p>Seungcheol quickly agreed, telling him that Minghao and Seokmin would be staying here until the others who had went back home returned for their shift to watch over Junhui. Just as Jisoo was about to follow through with their plan and leave, his leader suddenly dove in to give him tight hug, something that the two of them desperately needed. As both of them clung onto the one another, they allowed a small message to be passed through the embrace. One that promised something they both had to know, ‘I will be back.’ </p>
<p>Finally pulling back, while wiping away some stray tears that had managed to escape his eyes, Jisoo walked over to the middle of the room where Junhui was laying down and merely placed his hand on the uninjured shoulder of the boy, “I’ll be back to see you soon. I promise.”</p>
<p>With that, he gave a final goodbye to the other remaining members and went out to head for whatever new hell awaited him. </p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>While on his way to the station, Jisoo called Wonwoo to let him and Jihoon know what was going on. After two drawn out rings, the other boy finally answered, “Hello Hyung.”</p>
<p>The older could sense the tiredness in his tone right away, “Hey Wonwoo. I just wanted to let you know that I’m leaving the hospital to meet up with you at the police station.”</p>
<p> “Okay, that's fine, but just to let you know, the officers haven’t been needing much of our help really. I mean, it’s understandable since we don’t know what to do in this kind of situation, but I just want to let you know there isn’t a lot to do here. Although, they will be going over possible plans for the drop-off a little later, so just text me when you get here so I can take you to the conference room where that will take place.”</p>
<p>Jisoo was grateful for all the information, “That works. Also, if you would like, either you or Jihoon can go home to get some rest. My best guess is that you didn’t get much sleep last night, and you’ll probably be needing it for today and tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Rather than hearing a response to his offer, Wonwoo just sighed, “As much as we need sleep, I don’t think either of us can get any. For now, we will just stay with you.”</p>
<p>Jisoo cannot say that he was surprised by the answer, so instead of insisting for the others to take of themselves, he simply accepted the other boy’s relatable words, and told Wonwoo he would be there soon.  </p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>Jisoo had arrived about thirty minutes ago and was now sitting in a large, bleak conference room with his other two members as they waited for the officers to tell them about how this drop-off would go down. Just as he was about to continue the conversation he, Wonwoo, and Jihoon had been having with the group next to them, BTS, the policemen entered the room, "Sorry for the wait gentlemen, but it seems we have now formulated a final plan."</p>
<p>All the idols merely stayed silent in impatience as they waited for Officer Kim to continue, “Your companies have agreed to grant us at least half of the payment requested for this idea to work. We’ve planned to send in a trained officer to make the drop-off. This officer will have a camera on him for you all to safely watch the live transaction from here. I, along with my team, will be uncover in the surrounding forest area as reinforcement. Once the agent shows the suitcase containing the money to the other man, we will stay on guard until he makes contact. When that happens, my group will follow the delivery man as he retreats back to the car they used to arrive and take all of the men that came there under arrest. With them in our custody, we can hold interrogations for immediate information and try to find any devices in the vehicle that we can track back to where they are keeping the idols. If something else happens and we aren’t able to catch the men, we’ve planted a tracking device within the lining of the suitcase for backup to follow them.”</p>
<p>After hearing the decided plan, Jisoo witnessed Jin make a confused face, “Didn’t they say there would be consequences if we did any of this?”</p>
<p>Officer Kim looked as if he understood where the boy was coming from, yet he still hadn’t changed his mind, “Listen, I’ve been through many hostage situations before, and this is the best way to go. With the idols still in their custody and the significant amount of money they have requested, this will be our only opportunity to insure that both will be out of their grasp.”</p>
<p>Even though the man seemed certain, Jisoo was still far too worried about the other possible outcomes that could hurt his brothers, “I agree with Seokjin-ssi, I won’t risk my members getting hurt anymore. If you want any of us to agree with this plan, you have to promise that this will work for sure.”</p>
<p>Glancing around to see a chorus of nods from the other groups, Jisoo waited for Kim’s response, “Unfortunately, I can’t do that, seeing as how the outcome is not set in stone. However, I can promise you that this will be our only efficient way of finding your members and the kidnappers before more damage can be done. We need to do this.”</p>
<p>Everyone still remained wary about the situation since the literal fate of their members depended on this, and they had no way of knowing if it would actually work or go terribly wrong. However, the officers seemed certain about this being the best way, and they just had to take that chance. The fact that they could also be present at the station to watch the transaction helped a little bit, but their nerves were still as uneasy as ever. </p>
<p>Before it all came to a final conclusion, the small voice of San from Ateez was the last question they had heard, “Are you sure?”</p>
<p>Kim simply looked at them all, determination dancing around in his deep brown eyes, “As sure as I can be.”</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>“Mr. Hong?”</p>
<p>"Mr. Hong."</p>
<p>“Mr. Hong!”</p>
<p>At the third call of his name, Jisoo was startled awake, totally lost to the point were he couldn't even remember where he was. Looking around with eyes blurry from slumber, he searched for the source of the mysterious voice and glanced up to see the man who had introduced himself yesterday as Officer Choi above him. </p>
<p>“Sorry for disturbing you, Mr. Hong. However, it is now an hour before the transaction will take place, and I have been ordered to wake you up, along with your other members here, so that you can prepare to watch the live video.”</p>
<p>Finally registering what was going on, Jisoo jumped up in alarm at how much he had slept. Sure, it was probably for less than five hours, but with the drop-off so close, he could hardly believe that it was now going to happen. </p>
<p>He had hung around the police station for the majority of yesterday, with Soonyoung and Chan switching out with Wonwoo and Jihoon in the middle since both of the boys wanted to leave and visit Junhui before taking a small rest at their home. Nothing else really happened beside Officers Kim and Choi coming in to check up on them occasionally and answering any concerns the boys had.</p>
<p>With time finally reaching the dreaded transaction, of which the boys desperately wished would bring their brothers back, Jisoo thanked the man for waking him up, and even helped the agent with shaking awake his other members who were spread around the room in dreamland.</p>
<p>--------</p>
<p>It was now five minutes before the beginning of it all, and everyone from each idol group was present, excluding Seungkwan and Minghao who had to stay with Junhui. It didn’t matter if they had slept, stayed completely awake these past few days, or were too emotionally exhausted to function much longer, they all came to anxiously await the drop-off that they severely hoped would be successful. </p>
<p>Feeling his own stomach turning in knots at the possibility of this all going south, Jisoo held onto the hand of his member next to him, which had happened to be Chan. The other looked down at the touch in alarm before relaxing into the comfort of his older brother and squeezing back, letting Jisoo know that he was there for him too. </p>
<p>That’s when officer Choi, who had been standing at the front of the room to set everything up, addressed all of the boys one last time, “All right, our agent is at the drop-off area and is waiting for the kidnappers. Firstly, you all will be able to watch and hear everything that goes on through this screen,” Choi gestured to the monitor on the wall, connected to his high-tech computer, before he continued, “I want you all to remember what our plan is. It is in our best interest that these men are captured for not only justice, but the well-being of everyone involved, especially your missing members. Secondly, I’m not going to sugar coat this for you, what is about to happen will be incredibly stressful for you all, so I suggest taking in a few deep breaths to prepare yourselves for it. A reminder that it is okay for any of you to leave the room in case of any overwhelming stress, but even if things may seem bad, remember that this is our job. We will handle it as best we can for you. And lastly, despite everything planned, it will always our first priority is to ensure the safety of your members, so please don’t think we want to place them in anymore vain than what has already happened.”</p>
<p>Receiving some sort reassurance about what they should expect from this whole thing, all of the boys nodded in understanding before turning to the foreboding screen that showcased the creepy, abandoned park chosen for this occasion. Seconds seemed to turn into hours as they all waited for something to appear within the empty forest while Choi occasionally made comments towards his colleagues in the ear piece he was wearing.</p>
<p>Just as Jisoo was about to look away for a moment, the field officer finally spotted someone coming towards him and spoke into the various microphones on his person for all to hear, “I’ve got eyes on a new figure. It looks like they could be headed in my direction.”</p>
<p>Officer Choi responded to him, “All right. Keep a watchful eye on them and be ready for anything.”</p>
<p>With news of someone finally approaching, all of the idols straightened up in their chairs, intent on watching the scene unfold.  As the shadow kept getting closer and closer, everyone felt a sort of puzzled feeling enter their mind. Rather than the figure giving off some kind of smug attitude that they all would expect from a gang member receiving money, the individual was taking uncertain steps with their body giving off a slouched and cautious demeanor. This unexpected presence threw off the entire room until they finally saw the face of the man, revealed in the bright glow of the sun.</p>
<p>Now it all made sense.</p>
<p>That person wasn’t some middle-aged brute with a cocky demeanor. </p>
<p>No, it was someone all too familiar with the now extremely troubled boys of Ateez as Hongjoong jumped out of his chair, “Oh shit!</p>
<p>Alarmed by the outburst, Choi looked back with wide eyes, wanting to know the reason behind the boy’s disturbance while also needing to pay attention to the wide screen, “What?!”</p>
<p>Yunho, who had been sitting next to Hongjoong equally as shocked, spoke up, “It’s not one of the kidnappers. It’s—” </p>
<p>His leader finished for him, “Wooyoung.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So sorry this update took so long! I had planned everything I wanted to include in this chapter, and it turned out to be like ten times longer than I was expecting. Because you all had to wait, I hope to have the next chapter out really soon for you!<br/>Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this update and have an amazing day! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. It All Fell Down</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>switch between Wooyoung POV and group POV<br/>this chapter will mention violence !!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Get up.”</p><p>Wooyoung had finally managed to fall into somewhat of a sound sleep when he, along with many of the other idols, was startled awake by the sudden booming entrance of their kidnappers. Just as he was about to clear the exhaustion from his head and see what was going on in the blinding lights around him, the young boy was surprised to feel the three intruders take off his ankle cuff while numerous hands wrapped around his figure to drag him away from Seonghwa’s comforting embrace. </p><p>“You’re coming with us.”</p><p>“What? Where are you taking him?” It was the older member's voice, still raspy from slumber, that was now raised in suspicion as his dongsaeng was grabbed without warning.</p><p>Even though Wooyoung was quite nervous himself, he didn't want Seonghwa getting too worried about him and possibly hurting himself in the process. Right before he was about to tell his brother that it would be okay, despite thinking the complete opposite, the younger was too late as he now heard some movement behind him followed by a loud slap. </p><p>"Hyung!" </p><p>Tears rushed to his eyes as he knew it was his brother on the other end of that hit, probably trying to stop the kidnappers from doing anything else to him. As the younger now tried to lunge for the other boy to check if he was all right, he was thrown back into the suffocating arms of the strongest man and could only watch as the leader gang member approached Seonghwa, who was still facing the floor from the force of the blow, “He will be fine. As long as you all do what we say.”</p><p>Looking up at everyone now, he continued on with a little speech, “We simply need one of you for insurance in this transaction. Let’s hope that your other brothers were wise and did exactly as we instructed. If they did, then you all will have nothing to worry about, but if not,” the man’s face darkened into a sadistic smile as his devilish eyes drilled holes into the backs of their heads, “then this torturous journey is far from over for you.”</p><p>With everyone now shaking at the meaning behind those words, the man just smirked before he turned around and gestured for his goonies to follow after. Feeling himself get dragged away without a chance to stop it, Wooyoung quickly looked back at his hyung for what he feared could be the last time. The younger tried his best not to cry at the reddened cheek the older was now sporting, but failed miserably. He figured that maybe one simple smile through the tears could let the other know that he would be okay and would come back soon, but before Wooyoung could see a gaze in return from his hyung, a blindfold was swiftly placed over his eyes as the kidnappers continued with keeping everything about their location a secret. </p><p>However, the boy forced himself to believe that he didn’t need a confirming smile from Seonghwa to be brave. He just needed the will in his heart to do whatever he could to protect the older. </p><p>~currently~</p><p>Just as Wooyoung was now sitting in a random, cold van, reminiscing over those last few moments he had with his brother, the young boy was suddenly turned around with the piece of cloth over his eyes being ripped away. Finally seeing what little was around him, Wooyoung slightly moved back as the creepiest of all the men, whom they referred to as ‘snake” due to the large tattoo on his arm, began talking to him, “All right, we are almost at our destination. Here’s what you are going to do. You are going to put in this earpiece,” the man harshly placed a small piece of metal in his hand before he continued, “and do everything we tell you.”</p><p>Snake then waited for a nod of confirmation from the fearful boy, before he said anything else, “You will also be wearing a small camera for us to see exactly what you are doing, so don’t pull any dumb stunts. After all, if you disobey anything we say, or try to make a run for it, your hyung will die, understand?”</p><p>Even though Wooyoung knew ahead of time that Seonghwa's well-being, and even his life, was dependent on everything he did today, hearing those words for real still shook him to his core. He couldn’t stand the thought of never seeing loving hyung again. The older boy who would always look out for him, along with his other brothers, and shower them in love no matter how much they got on his nerves.</p><p>It only took a few more minutes before they finally stopped the van and began equipping the young boy with his camera and earpiece, giving him a small sheet of paper along with a large duffel bag as well, “We will let you know when you have to use these,” Snake gestured to the mysterious bag and paper, “But now that you got everything, it looks like your time has come.”</p><p>As the door opened for Wooyoung to take step out, the boy felt nearly relieved to be given some sense of freedom again. However the false feeling was short lived as the kidnapper said some parting words to him with a sickening smile, “And just remember, Seonghwa-hyung is counting on you.”</p><p>Hearing the man refer to his brother in the close, casual way that he did made the boy's blood boil. They were completely making fun of the situation, as if his, Seonghwa's, and all the other idols' lives were joke. However, he knew the man was just trying to taunt him into playing with his emotions, so Wooyoung simply had to take a deep breath and hold back his anger to focus. Everything was on him now, and he couldn’t afford to fail, especially at the hands of these disgusting men. Looking over his shoulder to where the men told him the transaction would occur, Wooyoung finally began walking in that direction. </p><p>----------</p><p>“Wooyoung.”</p><p>Officer Choi now looked back at the screen and felt himself panic a bit on the inside. Sure enough, it wasn’t a kidnapper out on that field as they had planned, but one of the missing boys. This new factor definitely threw a wrench in their plans, but they couldn’t give up on it yet. There was still a chance for everything to come together somewhat smoothly. </p><p>Ignoring the boys behind him so that could focus on communicating with his colleagues, Officer Choi immediately spoke into his radio, “All right, this situation just got way more complex. That is Jung Wooyoung, one of the missing idols and not a kidnapper like we had anticipated. However, if everyone simply remains cautious, we can still follow through with the plan.”</p><p>In the midst of the agreeing voices he received from the officers on the scene, Hongjoong, along with his other members, argued back, “What do you mean?! Wooyoung is right there! Why aren’t you telling them to save him?”</p><p>Trying to be rational and maintain the composed attitude that was barely hanging on inside the room, Choi responded in a soft voice, “Because, if we take him now, we won’t be able to find any of the others. We need to wait and see how this all goes first.”</p><p>Despite Hongjoong wanting to say more, Yunho stood up to put his hand on the other’s shoulder, “There are officers out there right now who can contact him. We should stay calm for now and see what happens.”</p><p>Slowly agreeing with his sensible brother, the leader soon backed down to once again sit with his other members who were also buzzing with anxiety but were just less vocal about it. Needing some sort of support for what would happen next, Hongjoong reached next to him to take San’s hand, which had been secretly shaking in fear from the beginning. He knew it was hard for the boy to see someone, who could literally be considered his other half, in such distress and not be able to do anything about it. Therefore, he just squeezed the other's hand in reassurance, hoping they could at least calm each other down. </p><p>Everyone in the room was merely waiting at this point, praying that their compliance with the officers’ plan would bring back their beloved brothers safely. </p><p>----------</p><p>Wooyoung walked into the setting with only one thing repeating in his mind over and over, ‘Protect, Seonghwa. Protect your hyung.’</p><p>The man who was stationed right by the drop-off, dressed in the uniform of a police officer, now approached him closely. Watching as he moved with a comforting smile, Wooyoung couldn't help but picture his other brothers waiting for him as well and almost let out a sigh of relief before he remembered everything that could go wrong right now. With the reality of this situation returning to his mind, the closer the officer got, the more Wooyoung retreated back in caution. </p><p>“Are you Wooyoung?”</p><p>The young boy nodded his head, stepping back a little more to ensure the man wasn’t within reaching distance of him and accidentally have the chance to grab him and endanger Seonghwa. </p><p>“I’m Officer Park, and I'm here to help you.”</p><p>Rather than be reassured by the statement, Wooyoung simply dismissed the man's words to hear the haunting voice in his ear finally speak up, “Ignore what he says and read from the paper we gave you.”</p><p>Looking down at the crumpled sheet and empty bag that was given to him right before he left the van, Wooyoung unfolded the white paper and began to read from it, not wanting to disobey their orders, “T-The money demanded was 100 billion won. Did you bring it?”</p><p>The man just gave him a pitiful look before setting down a suitcase right in between them, “It’s all here. Mr. Jung—”</p><p>Before the man could even begin with persuading the missing idol into doing anything, Wooyoung merely continued on with his note, wanting the whole thing to be done with, “Good work. Now, t-they specifically asked for: no other police officers, no tracking d-devices, no following us, and n-no other bad ideas. Let’s see how well you a-all followed directions.”</p><p>The young boy’s eyes widened in horror as he saw what was listed below. These men couldn’t be this evil, could they?</p><p>As he stood there, frozen in place with terror, the kidnappers became impatient, “Keep reading, now.”</p><p>However, Wooyoung was beyond shocked and wasn’t even sure if he was physically capable of saying such things, “Please don’t make me read this!”  </p><p>“Say it or you will never see your goddamn brother again!”</p><p>Wooyoung then shakily looked back to the paper, completely disregarding Officer Park's attempts to converse with him as new tears fell onto the typed out words, "If anyone plans on f-following the vehicle out of here, then we will knock o-out Kim Mingyu’s k-k-kneecap, making him say g-goodbye to the only functioning l-leg he has left. If we find any o-officers out there, then w-we will go ahead and see if Lee Felix c-can hold his breath for,” his eyes widened in panic at the number staring right back at him, “t-t-two minutes underwater. For any devices found i-in the case, Kim Namjoon will,” Wooyoung had to let out a small cry for this last sentence, as his stomach turned in utter repulsion, “lose the same number of f-f-fingers.”</p><p>Despite the awful news of all the previous statements, the young boy was still most shaken up by the reminder of this last one, “And lastly, i-if you try to take me r-right now, you will find Park Seonghwa’s d-dead body abandoned in a ditch by m-morning.”</p><p>After he was done, the other officer just stood there, shocked by such vulgar demands as he tried to reason with the boy, “Mr. Jung, we can help you. Just listen to us, all right.”</p><p>“Fucking ignore him again and tell that asshole to stand back so that you can transfer the money.”</p><p>Wooyoung, with his voice still shaky and silent tears falling down his face in courage, asked the man to do exactly that, observing as the officer reluctantly took a few steps back, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to get through to the boy with the kidnappers speaking directly in his ear every second. </p><p>The young idol now squatted in front of case as he waited for more instructions, “All right, now open it and feel for any metallic devices, but be careful, they will probably be extremely small.”</p><p>Wooyoung really didn’t want to do what they had just asked. If the police were smart at all, then they would have definitely put a tracker inside the case. However, just as he had stated not too long ago, if one were to be found, then Namjoon would surely suffer horribly, but if he disobeyed them, then Seonghwa would be the one to get punished. Wooyoung held back more tears as he said a small, 'sorry,' in his head to Namjoon before searching the container.</p><p>Looking around at the money, the boy was surprised to see that there appeared to be nothing in there. That is, until he dug his hand into the bottom of it and felt a small bump underneath the lining. The blood then began to drain from his face as he knew it could only be one thing. </p><p>“Is that a tracker?”</p><p>Wooyoung refused to respond to the man on the other side of his earpiece. Maybe if he took the risk and lied to them, the police could track and find them all before anything bad could happen. </p><p>However, it seemed as if the men knew exactly what he was thinking and quickly reminded him of their power, “Don’t lie to us. Just remember that Seonghwa will be the one hurting. If the police show up at our doorstep because you did something stupid, that boy will still be killed no matter what.”</p><p>Wooyoung knew that they were definitely serious. After all, even if they could get close to escaping, the men will still have them in their clutches for some time. All it takes is one shot from a gun and he could lose his brother forever. Finding an the opening in the lining of the case, the boy finally pulled out the discovered tracker. </p><p>“Very good. Well, now we know not to trust them. Open your bag and start putting all of the money in that one instead.”</p><p>Scared for this transaction to take longer than he ever wanted, Wooyoung did exactly as he was told while his heartbeat increased with every stack he put in there. The young boy felt like everyone was watching him, trying to manipulate everything he did into their own desires. After all, it wasn't only the kidnappers that demanded things for him, but the police as well. The man he had been speaking with this whole time appeared to be losing patience throughout the situation, but he had no idea the stress Wooyoung was under. He didn't have the constant ringing in his head from overstimulation of all that was going on around them. He didn't have to worry he would lose a family member if this all went to hell. No one, but the other boys stuck in the basement, could even begin to understand the fears that now replayed in his mind everyday from the day they were all kidnapped.</p><p>Just as Wooyoung got lost in his head, lifting up some more money in the process, a voice suddenly broke into his ear, “Wait! Check that stack right now.”</p><p>Flipping through the fragile paper to see what the issue was, the boy found yet another hidden tracker in it and felt his heart break even further for Namjoon. </p><p>“So, they wouldn’t just give up at one. Oh well, it's their loss. Keep going Wooyoung.</p><p>----------</p><p>Everyone in the room watched, frightened and confused, as Wooyoung continued with transferring the money. Ever since the reading of the punishments that they had completely neglected in the beginning were shared, the whole room was silent, apart from those who had burst out into tears and others who got sick at the thought of the punishments, mainly Namjoon’s. </p><p>It seemed as if just a few hours ago, some of them could actually breathe again with the promise of a plan that could honestly work, but now, their hopes were completely and utterly crushed. Some were angry at the police since the plan had already endangered their members while others just sunk into a pit of despair for what was to come.</p><p>Ateez had been horribly stressed throughout the whole interaction since they had the presence of one of their members constantly weighing down on their shoulders. The boys initially wanted for just one of the officers to reach out to grab their brother to drag him back to safety, but they all knew that no one could ever jeopardize Seonghwa’s life like that. </p><p>Bts wasn’t in good shape either. At the first mention of a tracker, everyone in the room heard a sharp cry from Jimin and gasps from the rest of the group as they were already in misery for what was told would to happen to their leader. By the second one, more than half the team was crying while the others were in complete shock, about to throw something lying around the room in frustration.</p><p>Seventeen and Stray Kids, however, were still in the clear since none of the issues concerning their members had been violated yet. None of the other officers had revealed themselves, so Felix was still safe, and there hasn’t been a chance to follow the group, keeping Mingyu from being further harmed as well. Despite the current luck affecting their situation, all the boys were still incredibly anxious as they knew anything could change.</p><p>Just as they watched Wooyoung nearly finish with rearranging the money into his new bag, Officer Choi spoke into his radio again, “He’s almost done. Get ready to follow him after.”</p><p>That’s when a rupture of protests was heard around the room. The boys all watched in fear as the group hiding out in the woods shuffled around in a way that could possibly alert the kidnappers, making Bang Chan suddenly shoot up alongside Changbin, “What the hell! You’re putting the other boys in danger now!”</p><p>Officer Choi seemed unaffected as he kept watching the scene, “This is exactly what we agreed to. We are going to wait until he is done to capture the other men just as we planned. This is the only way to stop them completely.”</p><p>Many of Seventeen’s members were arguing against it as well, saying that the situation was completely different now with the punishments, and they could simply be putting Mingyu, Seonghwa, and Felix in trouble as well. Unfortunately, their complaints were shut down too.</p><p>Just as Choi was about to address them all again on his intention to follow through with the original goal, he saw some random movement on the screen out of the corner of his eye. Once again ignoring the loud voices of the boys who were stuck between sticking to the plan and completely giving it up to protect their members, he watched, horrified, as one officer in the hidden group slightly came out of the forest. </p><p>“Kim! Watch your man! What the hell is he doing?”</p><p>Hearing the panicked voice of the normally stable officer, all the boys quieted down to join him in watching the train wreck in front of them. Chan, who had been yelling at the officer before, now turned to him in a desperate tone, “Why isn’t he waiting?”</p><p>However, Choi had no logical response, “I have no idea.” Pushing down on the radio button, he tried to address Officer Kim again, “Kim, stop him from blowing your cover right now!”</p><p>After a few dreaded seconds of silence, said man finally responded, “I’m trying! Someone might have given him a false signal to move forward since more men are now joining!” In the background, they heard Kim yell at his whole group in a hushed tone as he tried to stop whatever they were doing.</p><p>Despite the strong wish they all held for something to finally stop the advancing men from blowing everything up, it seemed as if their luck had finally run out once Wooyoung suddenly looked up to see the new officers.</p><p>“Fuck! We’ve been spotted!”</p><p>At that, every member of the idol groups felt their heart drop. This plan was falling apart piece by piece, and they couldn’t do anything about it. Only scream, cry, or simply stare at an untouchable screen in front of them.</p><p>Agreeing to this scheme was a mistake to begin with, and now, their brothers would pay the price.</p><p>----------</p><p>Just as Wooyoung was continuing on with his task, that evil voice in his head suddenly panicked, “Fuck! Wooyoung, pick up what you have and run right now!”</p><p>Looking around to know why the man was asking this of him, the boy eventually saw some men moving around in the surrounding trees and knew they were probably heading for him.</p><p>“I said run, goddamnit!”</p><p>Wooyoung felt his legs sprawl out from underneath him as he tried to stand up quickly. Even though it was his own freedom standing in front of him, the young boy was far too worried about Seonghwa to even care. Finally getting up to his feet, he felt the dirtied performance shoes he had been wearing for days on end slip through the grass as he ran. </p><p>For his hyung, he ran as fast as he could.</p><p>The footsteps increasing in volume behind him didn't matter. The voices yelling at him, begging for him to stop didn't matter. Even the growing number of men emerging from other parts of the forest to aid in the chase didn't matter. </p><p>None of that mattered. The only thing in his mind was Seonghwa. </p><p>Running until his legs were on fire and his lungs were about to explode, Wooyoung did all that he could to finish what was asked of him. It only took a few more steps before he could finally see the clearing where the van was parked, ready to take off at any minute once he arrived. In one moment, he was flying through the air with swift speed, and the next, he face planted right onto the ground as an unknown officer now had a tight grip on his left foot. Wooyoung then turned around in terror as he looked to the man with wide eyes before whispering out a small, “I’m sorry.”</p><p>Using his free leg, the boy harshly kicked at and stepped on the man’s hand until he released him. Standing back up to continue his trek, Wooyoung realized that he was now so close. He even watched as one of the vehicle’s doors slammed open with the leader giving him a wild ‘hurry up’ gesture as his arms flailed around.</p><p>Making a wide, final jump into the opened door. Wooyoung curled up into a petrified ball as he smacked into the metallic ground of the van, still listening to the continuous yelling, and even a few deafening gunshots, come from both sides of the vehicle. Officers outside were demanding for them to stop where they were while the men inside screamed for the driver to speed off right now. </p><p>All that Wooyoung could think about doing right now, was to cry about everything that had just happened as he wrapped his arms around the large bag. Not only was that the most stressful situation he has ever been in (he could still feel the adrenaline crashing around in his body), but everything just seemed so uncertain at this point. He hadn’t retrieved all of the money, and many of the rules the men had set in place were broken by the officers, meaning that all of the groups would certainly be in danger. </p><p>However, he couldn't change any of that now. After all, he did everything he could, and that meant his hyung had to be okay.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, wow. I'm so dumb!! I was so focused on updating the other story I'm writing on here, that I thought it had only been about 4 days since I uploaded a chapter for this one until like a day ago when I realized it had been WAY LONGER than that!! I'm really sorry about the speed of these past few updates, but for now, I will make sure they are much more regular!<br/>Anyway, thank you so much for being patient and loving this story!! I appreciate all of your support, and I hope you all enjoyed this new CRAZY chapter (and anticipate the dark one coming up)!! Much love &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Liars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV Changbin and Namjoon<br/>WARNING!!!!: DARK ENDING and torture (I do not go into the torturing process and will only mention what happened, but it's still VERY dark!!!)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Changbin's POV</p><p>“He’s gone.”</p><p>Changbin could only watch in horror as the screen in front of him showed an empty space where the van, and all of his hopes, had just been. Many of the officers were still speaking into radios and even running after the vehicle to see if it had left any tracks in the ground, revealing which direction it my have gone in, but he knew it was all useless. They had just let the one chance to get their members back slip through their fingers, and no one was prepared to accept this new outcome that ruined their previous plan.</p><p>An outcome that wouldn't lead to their brothers coming home.</p><p> San was the first one to address Officer Choi as he spoke in a desperate manner, probably not wanting to believe that his best friend, Wooyoung, was really gone again, “Can you follow them?”</p><p>Choi, however, had nothing to say, “No. I’m sorry."</p><p>Everyone was silent for only a few seconds, in denial of what they had just seen occur, until Seungcheol finally exploded, “How could you do that? They fucking got away with it all, and you can’t do anything!”</p><p>Yoongi joined in as well, “Not to mention, the punishments they had just read! Our leader is about to have his fingers mutilated, and what, you’re sorry that you made a huge mistake that costs their lives!”</p><p>Even though the boys were now all ganging up on only one guy, no one tried to calm down them down. After all, the police really did fail them, and now, they were furious that there was nothing they could do to stop their brothers from being tortured. </p><p>More boys joined into the argument, wanting to know what the new plan was, yet Changbin stayed silent. His brain was already too overwhelmed as he felt like it was moving a mile a minute, trying to take everything in. This whole time, he had wanted to stay strong for his brothers, but he just knew that his tough exterior was quickly fading.</p><p>Over the past few days, their group had seriously been struggling with handling these recent events. Both Jeongin and Jisung were emotionally exhausted from crying so much and spent most of their time either reminiscing on their last moments with Minho and Felix or simply wishing that none of this was actually real. </p><p>Hyunjin and Seungmin had remained mainly silent, only existing in the confines of their own world as they thought of ‘what if,’ situations and constantly worried about what their two missing members could be experiencing.</p><p>Changbin himself had been trying his best to keep the group together, knowing that focusing on others would distract himself from his own pained heart. He would make sure the members ate enough, got some rest, and took care of themselves at least a little bit. Whether or not he actually succeeded in that, he had no idea, but it was still helping them and that counted for something, right?</p><p>Normally, Chan would be the one in charge of doing things like that, but their leader was far too lost in his own guilt to do so. He would refuse to leave the police station at any point, and would always say things like, "I was supposed to go with Felix to the restroom, not Minho," and, "I could have been there to stop what had happened." Changbin could see that his leader believed this was all his fault and repeatedly tried to reassure him that there was nothing he could have done, and that this was all some random incident that no one could have guessed would even occur. However, deep within, he knew the leader would never let himself off that easily, and honestly, Chan wasn't the only one thinking that way. All of the boys were haunted by this heavy, returning feeling of failure when it came to those two. The first time when they were temporarily eliminated from the group, and now, this. The guilt refused to leave their minds as they truly doubted their ability to support Minho and Felix like they should have.</p><p>None of their feelings were alleviated by that horrible video they had watched either. The minute the entire group saw it, it felt like all of the air in the room was sucked out through a vacuum. They were the only ones that got to see one of their members, but that was hardly a good thing. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Watching their fun-loving sunshine completely fall apart has continually tormented their hearts to this day. All of the boys already felt the need to protect him, Jisung had even stated that the freckled boy felt more like a maknae than their youngest to begin with, but after watching that video, they all felt as if they had failed at being the caring brother Felix was promised.</p><p> Everything worsened when the younger Australian cried out for someone not to be hurt, and the only logical answer as to who that was would be Minho. Thinking of his supportive hyung, who always cared for them with such a beautiful heart, in pain, made Changbin feel miserable yet angry. He wanted to cry for his poor brother and simply take him away from these horrid men to be safe again, but he also wished to be the one to destroy anyone who dared lay a finger on him like that. </p><p>Lost to the fog in his own head, Changbin was now suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when Choi tried to calm everyone down, “No one wanted this situation to play out like this, but there is still more we can do.”</p><p>To his surprise, Changbin watched as Hyunjin jumped up with fury now, “Like what? What can you do to stop those monsters from drowning my brother? They didn’t even get all of the money from our companies! They won’t stop there!”</p><p>That hit all of them hard. Changbin now realized that not only was his sweet dongsaeng in trouble again, but there was probably more issues that would arise since the ransom was not complete.</p><p>He couldn’t allow his brothers get hurt again, and took his chance to defend Hyunjin as well, “If you all have given up on actually protecting our members then we will do something ourselves.”</p><p>Changbin looked Officer Choi dead in the eye as he said that. He knew he could initially come off as intimidating to others and normally tried to comfort those he scared with his sweet personality that totally opposed his looks, but this was different. These officers failed them, and they needed to know that none of the idol groups would stand by anymore.</p><p>The policeman, still slightly discouraged from everything that had just transpired and overwhelmed by the furious looks he was now given, tried to reason with them all, “We will not give up. Our team will focus on finding any warehouses that could be close to the location. In the meantime, you all should check on what your companies are willing—”</p><p>The man was cut-off by a passionate Seungcheol, “I don’t care what our companies can and can’t do, I—” the normally strong leader suddenly choked up as he dropped his angry façade to reveal the utter turmoil he, and everyone else in the room, was in, “I can’t lose them. None of us can! Those boys are our family, and we might as well have just tortured them ourselves!”</p><p>Now finished with his short outburst, Seungcheol finally dropped to the floor on his knees, probably breaking down at the thought of his brothers being tortured once again, when Wonwoo got up to support his broken-down member. The other boy appeared able to hide his emotions somewhat better than a majority of the idols there, and used that advantage to speak to the officer in a more controlled tone, “I know you are concerned about catching these men, but right now, that is not our priority. Either help us actually rescue our brothers of stay out of the way.” </p><p>Although Wonwoo’s ultimatum may come off as extremely cold to any stranger, Changbin completely agreed. He knew that that at this point, they had to do whatever they could to get their members back.</p><p>----------</p><p>Namjoon's POV</p><p>Wooyoung had just now safely returned from the big drop-off, and every idol was anxious to know how it all went. Even though they all had tons of questions in line for the boy, they all decided to grant him some extra time with Seonghwa to enjoy their reunion together.</p><p>Wooyoung was currently cuddled up next to his brother as he finally started to speak, “Hyung, I did all I could.”</p><p>The older just hugged the boy closer, “And I’m so glad you are safe.”</p><p>However, it seemed as if some people couldn’t wait for updates any longer as the boys were now cut-off by Jungkook, “What happened? Will we be able to go home?”</p><p>Namjoon merely rolled his eyes at the younger’s impatience before he too waited for a response, seeing as how their future heavily depended upon what had just occurred.</p><p> “Honestly, I don’t know.” Wooyoung’s voice slightly quivered with left over fear before he continued, “I met with an officer at some abandoned park to pick up the money. I was actually able to get most of it before a few cops showed up, and the kidnappers told me to take what I had collected and come back.”</p><p>With his short story slowly sinking in, Namjoon discovered many more questions running around through his own head but was curious about one thing in particular, "If the cops were there, then why didn’t you try to escape?” </p><p>Wooyoung seemed to visibly deflate at that, “T-They say they would k-kill Seonghwa-hyung if I tried.”</p><p>All of them immediately reeled back at that, knowing that that one threat could make any of them do whatever the men wanted. Namjoon even took the opportunity to squeeze Kookie’s hand in reassurance, glad to not have that decision weighing on his own shoulders, and instead, being able to have his maknae right next to him, safe.</p><p>Despite the frightful expression they all saw from Seonghwa, the older still did what he could to comfort his dongsaeng, “I’m sure you did all you could, and I’m so proud. Although, I do wish you would’ve run away to the officers for your sake.”</p><p>The younger boy looked at him in complete and utter disbelief, “Are you kidding? I would never! That is absolutely ridiculous! Ask yourself if you would have run away if the situation were reversed?”</p><p>The older stayed silent as they all knew what he would say.</p><p>“Exactly, so don’t give me any of that sacrificing bullshit.”</p><p>Once those two were finished with their little banter, Jungkook took his chance to question the boy once again, thinking that this whole situation seemed a little too simple and easy to be true, “Was that all that happened?”</p><p>Wooyoung hesitated before he answered, “W-Well, not really.” </p><p>That left them all curious in a bad way, “What do you mean?”</p><p>“There were punishments our kidnappers had determined for any tricks the police might have set to get us back without them actually getting the money. I have no idea if they will actually follow through with them now since I escaped with the ransom, but I certainly wouldn’t trust them.” </p><p>Hansol was the first to ask the question they all now dreaded, “What were the punishments?” </p><p>Rather than respond, Wooyoung simply shrunk further into his brother’s embrace, “I-I don’t want to say. I’m scared.” </p><p>Seonghwa, not wanting to distress his dongsaeng any further, rubbed the boy’s back in comfort, “If it’s too traumatic, we won't force you.” </p><p>Although he wanted to give the younger a break as well, Namjoon knew that severity of their new situation was far more important to everyone right now and tried to get the boy to open up, “But, any information could really help us. We need to know what to prepare for.” </p><p>Wooyoung shifted around a bit as he found some courage to share the burdening information, “Other than Seonghwa-hyung, they targeted Namjoon-hyung, Mingyu-hyung, and Felix.”</p><p>Namjoon gulped at hearing his own name thrown out there, but was also grateful it was him and not Jungkook. His maknae, however, was far from happy about the new information and rapidly asked more questions, “What were the punishments?” </p><p>Before Wooyoung could get over his fear of sharing the dire news, a sudden loud crash accompanied by an angered yell came from upstairs making them all jump.</p><p>Jeonghan, with his voice still healing as it now only slightly cracked when he spoke, asked what they were all thinking, “What was that?”</p><p>Hansol just continued staring to the ceiling, “I have no idea.” </p><p>“Maybe someone found us?” Mingyu replied hopefully. Out of all the boys, he was the one who really needed to get out of there as soon as possible. They had no stabilizing equipment to help his leg recover in the right way. All they did was wrap some jackets around his leg, and ordered Mingyu to not move around too much. The boy, however, didn’t need to be told that twice since he already felt an extreme of pain anytime he would even touch the broken limb.</p><p>Hansol, tired from worrying over his injured brothers all day and night, could only wish his hyung was right, “I really hope so because anything else cannot be good."</p><p>That hope, just like any other positive feelings related to this situation, was short lived when the door to the basement opened to reveal four men, one of whom no one had seen before. As per usual, the leader was the first to approach them to give the updates, "All right boys, there’s good and bad news.”</p><p>They all reeled back at that, not wanting to hear what would come next if it wasn’t about being released. </p><p>“The good news is, Seonghwa, because your brother successfully retrieved the money without running away, you get to live, and Mingyu since no one followed our van here, you are also safe for now.”</p><p>Hearing the men talk about whether or not they would be injured was truly disturbing to Namjoon. Not only could they do whatever they desired, but none of the boys had any inclination as to whether or not they were in trouble and what the punishment even was. That notion merely solidified the idea that these men really did control everything that happened to them no matter what. </p><p>“However, there is a downside.” The man faked an expression of disappointment, “Unfortunately for you, about only 45 billion won was actually there for the transaction. Wooyoung had already missed a few stacks of money as he needed to run away, but it seems your kind brothers must have allowed the police to give us fakes. Therefore, someone is going to have to be punished for that, and you all are going to be staying here until we get every single bit we had asked for.”</p><p>Now starting to walk around the room, the man put a finger on his chin to feign thought, "Now, who to start with?" </p><p>All the boys huddled in together, hoping for nothing bad to afflict their own members (although, anyone in danger was also horrific to watch). Namjoon held his breath as the man slowly walked by him and Jungkook before he turned around to stop in front of the huddle of Seonghwa and Wooyoung, “You may have been saved by your younger brother, but the rest have failed in giving us what we wanted. Therefore, we need to send them another message.”</p><p>Both boys started panicking as Wooyoung scrambled to understand why they were reaching for his brother, “What are you doing?”</p><p>Rather than answer his question, the man just looked at him as if it were completely obvious, “I just said, someone needs to be punished.”</p><p>The poor boy became even more distressed, trying to hang onto his hyung who was now being taken away, “I did everything you asked! Why are you reaching for him?”</p><p>“I know. You did as you were told.” The leader then looked him dead in the eyes as he lowered to a dangerous tone, “But they didn’t.”</p><p>With that, the men around them restricted Seonghwa’s struggling arms as he tried to escape their grasp, soon giving up as he realized it was completely useless. The younger boy was absolutely livid as his hyung, who he was just reunited with, was taken, “Please don’t! Take me! Take me instead! PLEASE!”</p><p>Namjoon could barely stop himself from reaching forward and helping the two boys, but he was too far away. Even if he was willing to risk his and Jungkook's safety for them, there was no chance he could make a difference with four men standing in the way and his arms and legs restricted by cuffs. All he could do now, was watch with sympathy as Seonghwa tried to reassure his brother that all would be well,  “Wooyoung, I will be okay.”</p><p>Namjoon looked at him in surprise. There was no way the other boy actually believed that, right?</p><p>Examining him to understand why he had stopped struggling overall, Namjoon finally looked to his eyes and saw the truth. Seonghwa was scared. In fact, tears were running down his face in fright as he knew whatever was going to happen to him would not be pleasant. However, as the older boy kept his gaze trained on Wooyoung, he held a calm demeanor. One that read, 'I will survive. Just as long as my brother is safe.' </p><p>And that just made the Bts leader’s heart break for the pair. </p><p> Seonghwa was eventually taken out of the room as the of laughter from the kidnappers mixed with Wooyoung's cries to create a truly demented scene. That’s when the lead man, always there to see them at their worst, turned around in the entrance of the door to say one last thing, “Don’t worry, we will return him soon. Although, maybe not in the same condition.”</p><p>Wooyoung, yelling at the now closed door, was completely frantic. The boy was pushed and pulled between anger at the men and grief for his brave brother, and eventually, he just crumpled to the ground in a mess. </p><p>Namjoon wanted to say something to the collapsed boy, but he was speechless. What would one even say in a situation like this? They all knew that nothing would actually be okay in regard to his brother, and that pretending it was would be sheer mockery of the whole situation, but they couldn't just leave him to suffer alone.</p><p>Just as Namjoon tried to prepare himself to say something, he watched as the small boy named Felix, who had already been through his own hell similar to this, slowly untucked himself from Minho and crawled over to the distressed boy. Despite the other flinching from the contact at first, he finally got himself to slightly relax as Felix gathered him into his arms, softly running his hand through the other boys hair as he continued to cry, tears mixing with with snot as they both ran down his face wildly.</p><p>It had only been a few more minutes before they all heard a high-pitched shriek of pain cut through the walls. Wanting to protect Wooyoung from having to deal with anymore pain, Felix used his hands to tightly cover his ears, “Don’t listen. This isn’t your fault.”</p><p>The rest of the groups followed along, either scrunching their faces in anguish or crying for the poor boy, knowing that Seonghwa's screams would be forever embedded into their memory.</p><p>----------</p><p>It was close to an hour since Seonghwa was taken and Wooyoung still wouldn’t calm down. Sure, his cries weren’t as loud, but that’s only because his body was completely worn out from the constant distress. The younger would now just keep on repeating the same phrase, “I thought I did good. I thought I did good.”</p><p>As Namjoon watched the heartbreaking scene in front of him he knew that they all needed to be saved NOW. There was no way he could stand by as something like this happened again. Leaning over to Jungkook, he expressed his worries with his younger brother, “We won't be able to deal with any more of this treatment."</p><p>The younger then looked up to his leader with an exhausted yet resilient expression, "Are you suggesting we try to escape?"</p><p>"Well if the police failed us already, then we should start thinking of something before anything like this can happen again."</p><p>Completely understanding what his brother was risking, Jungkook actually agreed with him, knowing that if it came down to it, they all would have no other choice.</p><p>Before they could even think about continuing their conversation, the two boys suddenly fell into complete silence, along with everyone else there, as the door to their room finally creaked open. Stiffening up at the intrusion, they all tried to prepare themselves for whatever had become of the Ateez member as they watched three figures move approach the the doorframe. When the young boy was eventually walked through the doors, he could barely stand. Two men were on both his sides, holding up the frighteningly pale idol as he stumbled through the room, nearly unconscious. From what the others could see, he looked fine other than his whitened face and unsteady composure. </p><p>However, their attention was immediately diverted to the back of the room when Wooyoung released a desperate cry at the appearance of the older. He rushed out of Felix’s arms to await the moment he could hold, touch, or just be in contact with his hyung. </p><p>The older boy was soon thrown onto the ground with a grunt as Wooyoung threw himself around the other’s waist. Putting his ankle cuff back on seemed absolutely useless at that point since the boy wouldn’t even move, yet the kidnappers still kept up with all of their precautions.</p><p>One of the men moved to leave as the kidnapper they called ‘snake’ looked down on the two boys, “Thanks for helping us with the message. Here,” The man threw a water bottle right at their feet, “He’ll need this.”</p><p>After that, all the men were gone, leaving them all anxious yet equally fearful to know what horrors took place outside of their room.</p><p>Wooyoung wasted no time in trying to figure out what had happened to his hyung, “What did they do?”</p><p>“I-I-It’s okay Wooyoung,” they all winced at his voice, broken from the overuse of screaming, “I’m f-fine.”</p><p>No one believed him, his dongsaeng least of all, as they all took note of the dried tears and pained look still etched onto his face. The younger then began his own attempt to find out what was wrong as he moved to check all around the other’s body, searching his legs, arms, face, and anything that could be seen. So far, he had found no trace of their torture and was just as confused as the others. Seonghwa tried to weakly lift his arm to stop the boy, but he refused to back down. </p><p>That’s when Namjoon finally took time to look away and realized that there had been a strange foul smell that had wafted into the room as well. It was nothing like he had ever experienced before, but what he did know, was that it smelled absolutely appalling.</p><p>However, his attention was driven right back to the scattered duo once he heard Seonghwa let out a hoarse scream at Wooyoung merely resting his hand on the older boy's back. Now knowing that the injury was covered up by his shirt, Wooyoung quickly went to lift it up with Seonghwa begging him not to, trying to push more words out of his chapped lips to stop him, but it was too late. The younger immediately froze in place at what he saw, wide eyes refilling with tears as he couldn’t even fathom what was right in front of him. </p><p>Namjoon joined the rest of the boys in glancing over to see what he was looking at and paled at the sight as well. Hansol even gagged, nearly getting sick at it, when Wooyoung finally broke out of the horrified trance he was in and yelled at the top of his lungs in a hysterical voice, “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”</p><p>Seonghwa looked like he wanted to comfort the younger, but he just didn’t have any energy to do so, and now, all the other boys knew why. Not only could they see what had happened to him, but Namjoon also realized, in absolute horror, what the smell around them was: burnt flesh.</p><p>Spelled out in big, bright red letters was one word branded across Seonghwa’s irritated upper back: </p><p>‘Liars.’</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm so sorry Seonghwa (and Wooyoung) !!! :( I absolutely love him, and he deserves the best in life, but unfortunately, this story is not the place for that.<br/>Although, he won't be alone in suffering for long...<br/>Anyway, I actually updated in a decent amount of time, so yay!! I hope you all liked this chapter, and have a wonderful day &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Only One Option Left</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV San from Ateez and general POV</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>San repeatedly thrummed his fingers against the cold surface of the meeting table. All the groups had been told to wait for the time being, yet no one could convince themselves to rely on the false promises of the policemen anymore. If they wanted their brothers back safely, then complying with the kidnappers would unfortunately be their best shot.</p><p>With such ideas now being conducted between each other, some idols had left, including his two members Hongjoong and Mingi, to talk with their companies about giving over the rest of the ransom. The amount the gang had already received from them was ridiculous. Anymore money seemed completely unthinkable, but if they wanted the missing boys to have even the slightest chance of coming back normal, then the groups needed to fulfill what was requested them.</p><p>All San could think about now was how close they were to actually bringing back Wooyoung not even an hour ago. If only the officers had actually adhered to their promises then maybe he could be holding his best friend, better described as his other half, right now. Wooyoung was the bright, bubbly ball of energy they all needed, and Ateez would do whatever takes to bring him back home safe and sound. Well, except for what they were actually threatened with which was risking Seonghwa’s life, and San knew that no matter how much he wanted to be reunited with his younger brother, they could never endanger the older boy.</p><p>His hyung always brought out the best in everyone. He didn’t care about how much they would all tease him, with Hongjoong constantly pretending he doesn’t adore how close they actually are or San and Wooyoung continually pestering the older. Seonghwa simply wanted to make sure they were all happy, raising them to always be proud of who they were.</p><p>The more San kept thinking about both of them, the more he blamed himself, looking back on memories he should have never taken for granted.</p><p>~flashback~</p><p>
  <em>“Guys, guys.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>San and Wooyoung both turned their heads in near perfect synchronization to the right as they heard the gentle voice of their hyung. Smiling in a teasing manner at the older, it was almost like San could tell by his tone what Seonghwa was planning to ask of them, “What is it hyung?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The older tried to retain the air of confidence an elder group mate usually possessed, yet his calm nature and slight anxiety inhibited any sort of proud attitude to reflect in his approach, “Can I join you guys this time?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yep, San knew it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was a running joke that Seonghwa wanted to join the duo, known as Woosan, in their group. He would ask in front of cameras, at the dorms, and even just walking around casually as they were doing right now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Both San and Wooyoung would never say no to hanging out with their fun-loving older brother, but they also loved to tease him about it, watching for that hilarious reaction the older boy would give whenever he was provoked. Therefore, they would continue with baiting him on, occasionally accepting his request to join for a temporary amount of time before their hyung would have to beg them for a spot once again.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Currently they had just left to pick up some food for the members since orders for eight people required more than two carriers.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>With them still on their way there, Wooyoung released his loud hyena laugh at the request while San pushed it off with a smirk, “Can you believe this hyung? Always asking the same question no matter where we are.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They looked back to watch him give a little pout at that. Who really acted like the younger one now?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That’s when a brilliant idea suddenly popped into San’s head to mess with the older, “What will you do for us?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Seonghwa can’t say he was expecting for there to be no teasing from them, but what the younger boy could possibly be planning, he had no idea, “What?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Quickly catching onto the other’s mischievous intentions, Wooyoung joined in, “Yeah hyung, what will you do to prove to us that you are worthy?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Pressing his lips together in concentration, Seonghwa tried to plan the perfect idea for his initiation while San and Wooyoung continued their snickering, soon starting a playful game of push and shove on the narrow sidewalk to see who would step outside the boundaries first.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>However, before they could determine a winner, Seonghwa finally finished with his critical thinking, “Ah!” the older had a hopeful expression spread across his features, “I’ll carry back all the drinks from the restaurant!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The suggestion was tempting to accept since neither of the younger members wanted to be responsible for carrying the heavy drink trays and possibly face the wrath any member whose beverage they spilled. However, they were still curious to test how much they could get out of the older.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hmmh, does that sound like enough Sannie?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Let’s see.” Dragging out his syllables, San responded to him in a energized manner, “How about you talk in English the rest of the way there. Then we will let you join, for now.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wooyoung turned around with San to watch as the challenge filtered around in the older’s mind, deciphering whether or not it was worth it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Finally making a decision, Seonghwa spoke in an accented English, “Okay. Easy.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>With the challenge now accepted, the delinquent boys smiled at their adorable hyung who tried his best to learn the difficult language and would be put to the test today.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Taking advantage of the situation, San turned to Wooyoung first, "Wooyoungie, how was your day?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Speaking back in their native tongue, Wooyoung continued on with their evil plan, “It was pretty good! How about you Seonghwa-hyung?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The older just gave them a simple nod as he said, “Good.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wooyoung lifted an eyebrow at that, “Just good?” If Seonghwa thought he could get away with only one word answers, then he was poorly mistaken.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Yes.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Watching the resilient fight of their hyung, San continued on for them, "Then what did you do for it to be so good?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Now it was time for the older to pause and think, formulating some sentence that would satisfy his brothers’ demands, "I, um, dance. It was very fun.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Finding the answer to be somewhat satisfactory, San still wanted something else, asking to hear more details, “What else?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>This time Seonghwa took longer, putting foreign words together in a way that hopefully made sense, "I also cleaned the kitchen with… spongey?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The boys then bursted out into laughter, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to do any better, but their hyung was just being so cute in the little mispronunciations he used that was common with Koreans.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>However, the older wanted to be done with his English for now, "No more!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Even though Seonghwa might have sounded tired of their jokes, he actually had a genuine smile spread across his face as he enjoyed making his beloved dongsaengs happy.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The boys eventually stopped their games once they had arrived at the restaurant, balancing the orders of eight members among the expanse of their arms, hoping that the food and drinks would make it back in the same condition as they first got them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Finally leaving their destination, Wooyoung was the first to start speaking again, “What did you guys get? I swear my stomach is trying to communicate with the food itself I’m so hungry.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Seonghwa decided to respond as he could finally speak in the comfort their own language again, “I got steak."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wooyoung made a silent ‘ah’ with his mouth before they both looked over at a scheming San for his answer, “I just got chicken, but you know what we need for this messy meal?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The duo shook their heads no, looking at him in curiosity as San planted his feet against the ground in preparation to sprint, “A spongey!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Recognizing the familiar mocking tone of his mispronounced word, Seonghwa laughed out a loud, “yah!” before going after his sneaky member.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The rest of the walk, or rather run, was spent with San escaping the clutches of a playfully angered hyung as he tried to swat at his disrespectful brother without spilling the drinks. Wooyoung would occasionally join in, giving advantages to one or the other, with his loud laugh echoing around the empty area they were in surrounded by a beautiful golden sunset.</em>
</p><p>~end of flashback~</p><p>San wished he could go back in time to that exact moment, standing beside a cheerful Wooyoung with Seonghwa muttering a hilarious ‘brats’ behind them.</p><p>“Hyung, you don’t have to do anything more to join us." Getting hiccup in his voice, San resorted to quietly begging the small space in front of him for their return, “Just come back.”</p><p>He eyes remained focused on the table as he kept on repeating the same wish, not even recognizing the single tear that had slipped down his cheek to splash onto the smooth surface.</p><p>----------</p><p>Even when the men weren’t down there, just being chained up in the basement was torturous enough for all the boys. The only sounds echoing around in the cold, gray room was the rumbling of their stomachs and the occasional grunt from a tortured member. They all had to listen to the pitiful promises of the hurt boys as they pretended not to feel the pain, even though every movement reminded them of the opposite. There was also the fact that they had only been given food twice during their time there, and they all could honestly eat anything at that point.</p><p>However, the worst part was how slow time seemed to move. No one knew when it was night or day, whether a minute or an hour had passed, or what was awaiting them. They could talk to each other, but any topic that attempted to avoid their current situation would quickly lose its appeal since no one could keep themselves concentrated for long.</p><p>The best way to pass time was to sleep. However, some of the boys wanted to be awake for any news, and it was incredibly difficult to fall asleep on the hard concrete floor that left their bodies extremely sore afterwards.</p><p>Right now, the only two asleep were Wooyoung and Seonghwa. The older Ateez member quickly passed out after they made him finish off the water bottle given to hydrate himself from the harsh burns, but they all knew Seonghwa needed to rest. How long his sleep would last was their concern. They had no idea if urgent treatment was needed right away in order for him to survive, or if he could make it for just a bit longer.</p><p>Minho wasn’t about to wait and find out as he spoke up himself, “I think we need to plan something.”</p><p>The room was silent for a few seconds after, some agreeing with the weakened boy while others still worried for the consequences that decision could bring about.</p><p>“I agree,” Namjoon’s determined voice now filled their ears, “We can’t wait until someone else gets hurt anymore. Whether our companies are getting the money, the police are planning something else, or the kidnappers have an idea in store for us, we have to rely on ourselves right now.”</p><p>Most of the groups agreed with the outspoken leader. However, Hansol was still worried since he had two injured members to look out for, “The only way we can do this is if at least two from the same group make it, so that the other counterpart isn’t killed.”</p><p>Minho looked sympathetically over to the tortured boys of Ateez, “I think Wooyoung and Seonghwa are out of the picture.”</p><p>The rest nodded their heads in agreement before Mingyu spoke up as well, “It can’t be us either. I have no way of moving anywhere, and I doubt I could get Hansol and Jeonghan-hyung to leave me behind.”</p><p>“You got that right,” Hansol could never even begin to think about abandoning his member now, “but this seems far too dangerous to accomplish. We—"</p><p>The boy was about to finish his protest when Mingyu placed a soft hand on the other’s tensed shoulder, “Hansol, there is no other way. We are both okay with this." Looking over at Jeonghan who softly shook his head in agreement, Mingyu said exactly what the younger needed to hear, “We will be okay.”</p><p>The eyes of his tortured, yet still lively member, were tearing Hansol apart. Of course he wanted to go along with this plan and believe they would make it out safely, yet the rational part of himself would take one look at Mingyu’s mangled leg and silently cry at the sight. His brother was always so hopeful, but was this the right place for that? "You will be left here no matter what!”</p><p>Jeonghan now took his turn in calming down the younger, “There will be many others staying too. This is a risk we all need to take.”</p><p>Hesitating for just a moment, Hansol finally gazed up into the eyes of his Seventeen member. Even though both he and Mingyu had gotten the short end of the deal from the very beginning of this whole thing, Jeonghan still radiated confidence in his tone. His hyung was always like that, full of determination and kindness no matter where they were. It was almost like second nature to the boy since he always had a hand in helping Seungcheol keep the group encouraged and healthy.</p><p>Finally feeling some of his burden be lifted by his supportive members, Hansol reluctantly went along with the plan, wanting to get his injured brothers out of there as so as possible.</p><p>With Seventeen now in agreement, Minho gave out the last options left, “That leaves us and you two,” gesturing in the direction of the bts members.</p><p>Trying to consider all of their options, Namjoon questioned the boy, “Minho-ssi, do you think you could move at all?”</p><p>Said idol appeared reluctant to answer, knowing his update wasn’t favorable for their plan, “I don’t feel as bad as before, but I doubt I could move well enough to run, much less escape. Our best bet would be you two.”</p><p>That solution seemed obvious from the beginning, yet such a task would be incredibly burdensome for the duo. The thought of escaping was absolutely relieving, but the rest of the groups would remain there, relying on them to save their lives. What if they failed to escape and put them all in jeopardy for nothing?</p><p>Or worse, succeeded in escaping but were too late to save the rest.</p><p>Neither Namjoon nor Jungkook would be able to live with the guilt and soon found themselves buried in deep in thought concerning all of the possible outcomes of their new duty.</p><p>Watching the boys scatter to decide anything, Jeonghan took this opportunity to reassure them, “You two look like you feel bad about this, but don’t. You are our only hope.”</p><p>Despite the boy having the weakest voice among them all, still pained from his swollen vocal cords, it resonated a confidence that had truly been lacking in their environment.</p><p>However, there was still some doubt planted around the room as Jungkook spoke in a worried tone, “But you all will most likely get punished for helping us even if we get help or not!”</p><p>The younger bts member was very strong, being an idol of one of the most famous groups in all of Korea, and even the world, made him such, yet even he was terrified to risk the lives of everyone there. His heart too big to think of the consequences. Therefore, Jeonghan gave the boy a soft yet determined smile, “Then make it up to everyone here by bringing us home.”</p><p>Those words, spoken in such a finalized tone, formed a new trust between the boys as they not only relied on their own members for survival, but these new acquaintances who became loyal friends. In their heads, they all knew that this was their only shot to save everyone who was suffering, and they were determined now more than ever to make it work.</p><p>Ideas of how the bangtan boys could make it past the gang members to the outside of the building were being tossed around the room until a large thud was heard on the other side of the door, causing everyone to freeze up. The last thing they would want was for anyone outside to be aware of their escape plans.</p><p>However, they were merely greeted with the silent entrance of a buff looking man carrying in a large metallic tub to set up in the center of the room.</p><p>He left as quick as he came, leaving an air of foreboding curiousity to fill the room.</p><p>Wooyoung hadn’t had the time to actually tell them the other punishments. However, they had no doubt this could be one of them, and by the looks of it, the result would be anything but good.</p><p>----------</p><p>San was able to temporarily distract himself from the sorrows in his head when Officers Kim and Choi entered the room to address all the patiently waiting groups about the situation. However, upon walking in, the officers scanned the room only to realize the number of boys in there had dwindled.</p><p>“I’m guessing some of your members left to speak with your companies about this, right?”</p><p>Every head nodded in admittance of newly realized fact, but rather than appear upset, it was as if Kim and Choi were expecting that outcome.</p><p>“Believe us, we understand. However, the men on my team are still working on more alternatives to finding your members.”</p><p>Although no one actually vocalized any rejections to their idea, some boys rolled their eyes at more suggestions, not trusting that anything could possibly work. Yoongi even muttered under his breath, "The same men who ruined our plans the first time."</p><p>If his words were heard by the two officers in the room then they didn't acknowledge it. The men simply went to converse with the idols more before a new, unfamiliar officer suddenly entered the room, “Sir, we’ve received an email from an unknown sender.”</p><p>Every gaze was now fixed on the newcomer as a blanket of dread covered the room. They were all anxious to know what the kidnappers’ response was, but the state their brothers were promised to be in was not going to be pleasant.</p><p>Although, there remained one question to bustle around in each of their terrified minds: which group was it?</p><p>Officer Kim finally responded to the man, “Do you know it’s them?”</p><p>He merely shook his head, “No, the sender information has probably been altered for security, but by looking at the design and subject bar, it seems to be the men we are looking for.”</p><p>The police looked over the crowd of worried faces and honestly hoped the desperate boys wouldn’t have to face anymore heart break, yet every experience they had worked with would point to the adverse option being most likely. Gesturing for the intruding messenger to give them the laptop, Officers Kim and Choi wearily observed the notification of a new email, hoping the idols would not want to stay around to see whatever was contained within it.</p><p>“What does it say?” It was the voice of Jin that had risen over the crowd</p><p>“We haven’t checked it yet, but we will let—”</p><p>“No," Seungcheol, who had been very vocal throughout their time here, wanted to know what the message was, "We want to see it at the same time as you.”</p><p>The officers then shared a concerned look with each other before Choi addressed the groups one last time, “Are you sure? I doubt this will be something you actually want to see.”</p><p>Everyone looked around as a silent agreement filtered between them. It didn't matter what it was, they had to see.</p><p>Nodding their heads in acceptance, Kim let out an uncertain sigh before hooking up the laptop to their projector. Both men hesitated for a bit, waiting for any of the idols to pull out of the situation, but all the groups stayed strong, leaving Kim to reluctantly open the email.</p><p>That's when the boys realized, with heavy hearts, that they weren’t prepared.</p><p>They would never be.</p><p>Shouts of absolute terror were mixed with gasps to produce the only lively sounds around them. Chairs crashed together in the background as some idols needed to sit down or leave if they didn’t want to get sick. The room was no longer filled with the impatient anxiety from before, nor was it composed of silent dread similar to the calm terror of darkness. Rather, it was something much worse as a seemingly impossible reality entered their minds in a wave of deafening static that promised no end to their nightmares.</p><p>The room now housed pure fear at the sight of what was pictured.</p><p>It was as if the emotion personified itself and walked in as the guest of honor to their little meeting, smiling triumphantly at its success in creating such horrified reactions to one image.</p><p>That disturbing realization that this was merely the beginning of their brothers torture finally dawned on them all, and San felt himself break, hysterically crying at the new sickening appearance of his hyung’s inflamed back.</p><p>Not one person in that room would ever be able to get rid of the guilt that one word caused.</p><p>The word ‘liars’ that described them all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this chapter took a while! I was very busy this week since my classes started up again, and I had to get everything settled with that. However, school also means that I won't be able to write as often. Therefore, I can do one of two things:<br/>1. update 3-4 days with shorter chapters<br/>2. update 5-7 days with normal length (longer) chapters<br/>Let me know what you guys prefer, and I hope you enjoyed! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. No Longer Unbreakable</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV Minho from Stray Kids<br/>warning!!!!: this chapter will contain TORTURE!!! It is not gory however it is still very harsh !</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Minho continued to watch as the silver tub was filled with a long stream water from the basement’s indoor hose. Ever since the kidnappers set the container in their room not too long ago, all the boys were curious as to why it was there, yet no one in that room could possibly provide an answer (except for, maybe, Wooyoung). The idol groups would have asked said boy if he knew anything, but they didn't want to wake him from slumber as he was still fast asleep with his physically and emotionally exhausted hyung.</p><p>It only took a few more taunting minutes before a random pressure in the hose malfunctioned to produce a loud sputter, managing to wake up the younger Ateez member. As Wooyoung stirred from sleep, he began to rub his eyes softly, wanting investigate where the swooshing sound he had heard came from. The boy took a glance around, his eyes firstly locking onto a still passed out Seonghwa as he whimpered in sadness at his hyung’s poor state. </p><p>Taking his sight off his brother for just a moment, they watched as Wooyoung glanced at the object in front of them curiously before his eyes soon widened in terror, obviously not liking what was in front of him. </p><p>Minho truly did feel horrible for the young boy since the second he was woken up, he was reintroduced to the stress and fear of their dire reality once again, but by the way he now looked at the tub, it was clear Wooyoung knew something they didn’t. Perhaps it was a part of the punishments or a way of messing with the idols, but whatever it was, they all knew the boy's reaction meant it wasn't good. </p><p>“Wooyoung-ssi, is this in relation to one of the punishments you told us about?”</p><p>Said boy now looked at Minho, who had just spoken, with wide, quivering eyes as he slowly shook his head in confirmation. Minho was barely able to catch the careful movement himself and almost asked a follow-up question before the hose suddenly shut off, the water nearly reaching the top, as the three usual men they dealt with entered the room. The leader, always the most talkative, emitted an attitude that said he was ready to get things done, “All right boys, it is a big day today! Currently, we need to film another video for your friends!”</p><p>As if on cue, one of the men carried in the same camera they had been filmed with before and set it up in an identical spot. This time, with a new, unfamiliar gadget hanging off the side. </p><p>Since everyone appeared to be preoccupied with the set-up, the leader suddenly clapped his hands together to gather back their attention, “As you know, we can’t use our own faces for the messages, so one of you will have to be the lucky reader.” </p><p>The man took his time in scanning the room, trying to find an unwilling participant for the dreadful task. </p><p>“You.”</p><p>Minho glanced up for a split second to find the man pointing at Jeonghan. Both of the boy's members immediately protested against their brother being put through any more torture than his body had already endured, trying to shield him from the demanding stare of the evil men. However, Hansol was the only one capable of actually reaching towards the older since any pressure on his leg, in response to leaning in their direction, would cause Mingyu to wince at the intense surge of pain moving through his body. </p><p>The men simply ignored Hansol, almost completely unbothered by the expected reaction, until the man whom they had nicknamed Snake had had enough of his complaining and prying hands. Pulling at the linked metal, binding the younger member's wrists together, the man yanked his handcuffs down harshly to cease anymore movement, “If all goes to plan, your brother won’t be hurt, but keep struggling and that will certainly change.” </p><p>Even though neither Hansol nor Mingyu wanted Jeonghan to be involved, they knew their complaints would merely fall on deaf ears and probably promise something worse for their hyung. Therefore, all they could do was hold the men to their word as the oldest boy was taken out of his restrictions easily before being shoved onto the ground right in front of the water container. The leader then lifted Jeonghan up by the collar of his shirt, giving him a specified note just like Felix and Wooyoung, to read off for their waiting audience, “You should be used to these circumstances by now, but a little reminder never hurts: Read only what has been written on the page. Hesitate, and one of your friends get hit. Refuse to listen to us or say something to warn anyone in the video and Hansol will replace the person getting punished today, got it?”</p><p>Everyone watched as Jeonghan shook his head rapidly, the action originating from a combination of fearful obedience and his already quivering form. The older boy simply looked back at his poor members and knew that any amount of resistance would be useless. Even if the words written for him would be less than pleasant to share, someone was still going to be tortured, and it was his responsibility to make sure it wasn’t one of his dongsaengs. </p><p>Satisfied with the compliance of one party, the men moved on, “Now that that’s taken care of, let’s round up our main characters!” Turning around towards the Stray Kids duo, the leader smirked evilly at Felix, “And it just so happens our TV star is up again. What a coincidence!”</p><p>Minho immediately tightened his grip around the younger, refusing to let his pure brother to fall victim to their clutches once again. Even if he knew nothing could truly stop the three men from doing what they wanted.</p><p> “Resistance is only going to make it hurt worse.”</p><p>Both Minho and Felix knew that. They had seen it, experienced it even, yet nothing could loosen their grips. Maybe Minho was brave or just downright insane, but the inability to comply and willingly hand over his brother was too strong. They wouldn’t let each other go.</p><p>They weren’t broken yet. </p><p>The man, thinking his words may have changed something in the terrified boys’ minds, was disturbingly shocked when Minho stomped on his hand reaching for the younger’s cuff. Said kidnapper pulled back his now injured hand with a hiss, staring holes into Minho’s head. The other two men beside him went to move, about to punish the boys for their defiant act, yet the leader just lifted his hand for them to halt. He merely took the small pause as his chance to intimidate the duo himself, directing all the hatred in eyes at them, “Resist one more time, and you’ll regret it.”</p><p>Minho felt turmoil turn through his mind at that. The man’s glare promised nothing good, but he couldn’t decide if a worse punishment would be preferable over the guilt of giving up his dongsaeng so willingly. How would Felix trust him any longer if he just listened to what these men said and mistreated the one person he was supposed to protect? The older would never let that happen, no matter the amount of times Felix whispered to him that it would be okay, or how the devil in front of them tempted him into breaking so easily. </p><p>“Fine,” The man smiled, his teeth now shining in the light creepily, “Have it your way.” Pulling out the gun tucked into the back of his pants, he pointed it at Felix, “Both of you are going to get up, and don’t even think about pulling a fast one on us. Otherwise, little Lixie will find a bullet in his head soon.”</p><p>Minho didn’t know what angered him more, the threatening of Felix’s life or the way that horrid man let such a genuine nickname slip through his lips in a mocking manner. He gritted his teeth in fury at the men as they now unlocked both of them, blindly following the orders of their leader. The kidnappers then grabbed at them both harshly, not separating the boys' death grip on each other just yet, but shoving them onto the ground opposite of Jeonghan. </p><p>The strongest of the kidnappers, also known among the idols as Buffy, had a hand on both of their shoulders as Snake went for the camera, setting it up directly at the main attraction in the room. With everything coming into place for the gang members, the leader, who never took his eyes off Minho for even a second after his defiant actions, explained what was to come, “I don’t know if Wooyoung had told you, but there was a certain punishment set up for Felix in response to the police’s efforts to save you all and capture us in return.” </p><p>The man surprisingly allowed his sight to be removed from the older Stray Kids member in favor of running his finger against the cold surface of the dirtied tub, “For any police officers found in the area, other than the person involved in the transaction of course, your brother will, unfortunately, have to spend quite the amount of time forced underwater.”</p><p>Minho felt heat rise to his face at that. There was no way they actually believed he would just let his younger brother be tortured like that, right?</p><p>Before the boy could even retort back, bright red figures flashed across the room as the little attachment Minho had seen earlier seemed to power on, revealing a clock of some kind that read: 02:00.</p><p>“Those numbers you see there will countdown exactly how long Felix will have to hold his breath: 2 minutes.”</p><p>The fury in his body was slowly transitioning into fear as that information sorted through Minho's head. They were performers who were used to controlling their breathing on stage, but even that wouldn't guarantee Felix could make it in two whole minutes! Looking down at the small boy, the older knew he would have to convince the kidnappers of switching around their spots. He refused to choose between Felix getting or drowning, “Please, use me instead! Please! I'll do anything!”</p><p>Minho felt Felix stiffen up next to him in awareness, probably begging his hyung to stop his attempt at switching them around. However, he just ignored him, intent on following through with his new plans as his eyes followed the leader gliding around the room. Rather than hear a confirmation to his wish, Minho was met with an emotionless, sarcastic laugh, “Ha! Now you are obedient! See how one little notion can break you all down!”</p><p>The older boy, however, didn't react at all, still concentrated on the man as he waited a possible change in plans to save his dongsaeng. He watched with wary eyes as the leader circled back around to them, squatting down to their level, “Unfortunately, there are no switch-a-roos down here. Although, you won’t be completely uninvolved."</p><p> Minho couldn't tell if he should be hopeful or not about that statement. His gut knew the worst of both outcomes was probably most likely, yet his heart couldn't help but hope for a break from their seemingly unending suffering. </p><p>"Since you refused to stop resisting our advances just a few seconds ago, I have a new task for you.” Those dark eyes promised something utterly wicked, “You are going to help hold your sweet little brother’s head down.”</p><p>If Minho thought things couldn’t get much worse, then he was dead wrong.</p><p>“W-W-What?” The older boy waited, prayed, to have heard those words spoken incorrectly. No bone in his body was capable of doing such a thing. It didn't matter if their lives were being threatened or not. </p><p>He had to be simply messing with him. </p><p>However, the man was anything but joking as the two other men behind him had their lips raised in a slight smile as things got more interesting for them, “We told you to stop fighting back, and you refused to listen. This is your punishment.”</p><p>Minho’s frozen state of shock got the leader to smile once again, “You probably thought the gun was it, didn’t you? Thinking we would keep on moving with the same 'I'll shoot him for your obedience' tricks from the beginning!" The leader took a minute to revel in his disturbing, over-joyed outburst before he continued, "Trust me when I say this, the longer you stay here, the harder things are going to get.”</p><p>Despite that statement being said directly to Minho, it was meant for everyone in the room to hear. They all had to come to the realization that the minute the transaction had failed, everything was doomed to fall apart. Starting with Seonghwa and now targeting each group one-by-one. </p><p>As both boys from Stray Kids remained distracted by the man, Buffy took the opportunity to finally pull them apart, throwing Felix into the hands of the leader while keeping Minho in his own clutches. </p><p>"Fuck! Lix!" </p><p>Minho pushed forward, trying to race back into the comforting arms of his brother, yet his efforts were immediately halted by the heavy hand pushing down on his shoulder. Despite the grip being quite powerful, Minho would not stop his attempt to escape as he continued to writhe against the restrictive grasp, encouraged by the audible cries of Felix not too far away, calling for him as well. </p><p>The lead man watched the scene with a bored expression, merely rolling his eyes in exaggeration before he pointed the gun in between them, "If you two are going to be this annoying and uncooperative then I might as well get rid of you now."</p><p>Such a simple, yet terrifying statement caused them both to stop fussing just a bit, allowing the gang leader to sigh in false relief, "Finally! Now, we are going to start this video. You," he pointed to Jeonghan, "will start reading everything written there, and you," he looked between Felix and Minho, "will do exactly as we say."</p><p> Not even waiting for the boys to agree, the leader nodded at both of his colleagues to now cover their faces with a mask, keeping their identity a secret since they would actually be in the frame this time. Right after they were done, Snake finally pressed record, a feeling of déjà vu overcoming Minho as he remembered the time he had to watch Felix struggle with reading the ransom note as he was tortured. If he could, Minho would choose to be back in that reversed position in a heartbeat. </p><p>With everyone now frozen in uncertainty, Jeonghan was signaled to start speaking, “I-I-If we recall, there were quite a few police officers e-emerging from the surrounding f-forest when we specifically asked for them n-not to be there.”</p><p>Jeonghan tried to speak in a calm, collected voice, but being under so much stress for the past few minutes made his throat revert back to its sore sound, “That m-means we will have to p-p-punish another group today for t-those selfish actions." The older boy  released a small whimper in pity before he finished the short message, “You already-y know w-what to expect.”</p><p>With his words trailing off into nothing, the older Seventeen member looked at Minho and Felix regrettably, wanting to jump up to his feet and help them, yet knowing such a thing could not only hurt the boys further, but endanger his brothers as well. In this situation, there was no way of winning.</p><p>Now realizing that the dreaded time had come, Minho felt his breath hitch when Snake sauntered over to them and shoved Felix right into the side of the tub, not even letting the boy catch his breath before he grabbed the back of the boy’s knotted hair to position him right above the dire water. </p><p>The leader was right next to him, keeping an eye on the older Stray Kids member and Jeonghan at the same time to make sure no one was planning any funny business. Snake kept his hands entangled in his younger brother’s hair as Minho felt himself start to lose it, Buffy leading his restricted hands over the ones already placed on his brother’s head. </p><p>Minho just kept shaking his head back and forth, no words, no strength, no anything came from him anymore. Just pure denial of what was going to happen. Of what HE was responsible for doing to his brother. </p><p>“Please…please, no.”</p><p>Those last few begs were nothing but pure whimpers as he tried for, the last time, to stop these men from following through with such a demonic plan. However, it didn’t matter the how much agony collected within his eyes, the men still wouldn't stray from their plan, and Minho soon found himself falling into hysterics, "Please don't make me do this! PLEASE!" </p><p> Minho had no idea if his crying or screams were louder, yet it didn't matter. All he could feel were the tremors taking over his body as more and more tears rushed down his face, adding to the already full tub of water. Taking the time to look reluctantly at his dongsaeng, Minho found the boy was trying to comfort him with his own tormented brown eyes, promising his hyung that he would be all right. That he would fight.</p><p>The fear was also obvious in Felix's eyes yet understanding laid underneath as well. The younger knew how heavy the burden of guilt was when you were the one in charge of the other’s well-being. To this day, no matter how much pain he was in at that time, Minho can still hear the echo of the younger’s cries of resistance, and he has no doubt Felix would remember his from now on too. </p><p>As Snake traded his hands with Buffy, it was now Minho feeling the dirtied, yet slightly soft, hair of his dongsaeng. The leader merely walked to the camera, placing his finger on the button as he motioned for it all to now commence, “Let’s go boys.”</p><p>Felix immediately sucked in a large breath through his nose, trying to focus on anything else but the panic filled room while Minho merely pinched his eyes shut, quickly counting down the numbers in his head to distract himself from the new reality of what his brother was going through. As the water splashed up onto his hands, Minho nearly pulled back in response to the freezing cold temperature as if ice had swallowed up his fingers. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what Felix must have felt, probably thinking his face was being suffocated by an indefinite amount of winter snow. </p><p>The older boy's arms were weak, shaking in instability so violently that the other man, who hand one large hand placed on Felix’s neck while the other pushed down on top of Minho’s, had to press the smaller boy down all by himself.</p><p>So far, the eerie calm in the room for the first minute had been the worst part. The other idols could only sit and watch as they hoped, from the bottom of their hearts, that Felix would be able to withstand the agonizing activity for just a bit longer. However, as more seconds passed on, Felix started to struggle under their weight, slightly moving his legs in discomfort. Minho immediately opened his eyes at that, looking at the timer near the camera that read 40 more seconds left. He shot his head right back down to Felix to see the boy's arms, braced on the sides of the tub for support, push down where they were, causing a panicked flail that let everyone know he was slowly losing this battle. </p><p>Faced with the distress of possibly losing his brother, Minho tried to raise his arms in an attempt to release the younger, but Snake just pressed down more, sneaking an agitated look Minho’s way for his rebellious attempt. However, the boy couldn’t care less. Felix was now frantically splashing around in the water, releasing no screams, no pleas, no harsh breathing. Just the horrific sound of water sloshing around him as he needed to breathe again, his physical suffering hiding underneath the cold surface.</p><p>The increase in his brother's panic made Minho immediately try harder in freeing him "Stop! You're killing him! He's dying! STOP!"</p><p> Minho tried to plead with the men, hoping that at least one of them had one small speak of kindness in their bodies, but unfortunately, he was only met with Snake's hiss next to him, "Shut the fuck up!"</p><p>However, the boy wouldn't listen, crying so hard that it appeared to be painful. He couldn’t stand by anymore. The psychological trauma of not only being a part of this torturous infliction on his brother, but possibly losing him as well was too much to handle. Stray Kid's little sunshine was literally losing the beautiful glow of life he always shared with others in front of Minho, and no matter what the future consequences may be in store for them, the older had to be solely focused on keeping Felix alive right now.</p><p>With all the strength he could manage, Minho shoved his hands upward, surprising Snake as his grip was now thrown off the younger boy. Having done all he could, Minho merely watched with some relief as Felix broke through the liquid, about to fill his lungs with the oxygen he critically needed, until Buffy stepped up to push him back down with Snake, who had quickly recovered from the initial shock. </p><p>Before Minho could act up again, a constellation of stars suddenly exploded behind his eyes as the gun Felix was threatened with earlier hit his right cheekbone, causing a burning fire of pain to ignite under his skin. Falling to the hard floor, Minho was faced with a VERY angry gang leader who now pointed the gun down at him, “You’re really fucking dense, aren’t you? Couldn’t even follow one order correctly and now look at you!”</p><p>The man then kicked Minho twice in his still healing side, causing the boy to roll over in pain before he was restrained by the leader’s leather clad boot pressed against his throat. The pressure wasn’t enough to stop his own air supply, but it did prevent him from moving in Felix’s direction in any way possible. All he could do now was watch, with his recently spotted vision, as Felix continued to struggle, not having gotten any air to support him for much longer. </p><p>“Thanks to you, Felix has ten more seconds added to his challenge.”</p><p>Heavy tears ran down Minho’s face as he cried out in desperation, “He was going to die! STOP! STOP NOW!” </p><p>The pain all over his body was nothing compared to the fear of losing Felix. Minho tried everything he could to roll over, repeating his desperate phrases over and over in insanity, but he was too weak to make a difference anymore. His sadness mixed with anger as he yelled everything on his mind over the past few days aloud, surprisingly hearing a few distanced protests coming from the other boys too as they could no longer passively watch the horrendous scene in front of them anymore.</p><p> However, the loudest sound was the wild water flying all around the room due to Felix's arms as he kicked ferociously against the concrete floor as well, his body going into survival mode. The picture of anyone being forcefully drowned would terrify even a stranger, yet this was his younger brother! Minho felt his mind break, his own tears collecting in a large puddle on the ground as numerous more obscenities spilled from his mouth. </p><p> Amongst the utter chaos of screams, shuffling clothes, and audible cries, one thing rang out louder than it all.</p><p>DING! DING! DING!</p><p>A sharp piercing alarm traveled through the room, turning off the video camera at its signal. With everyone immediately reacting to the blaring noise, they all stayed silent enough to hear an eruption of water crash all around them as Felix was finally allowed freedom. Instead of the boy in need of CPR as water seemingly overtook his source of life, the younger Stray Kids member merely flopped onto the ground, taking turns with sucking in desperate breaths and coughing up everything in his lungs that wasn't oxygen.  </p><p>The absolute shock and relief now ringing through Minho’s system was suddenly interrupted by the sound of applause from the sadistic men, “Wow, Lee Felix! You have quite the lungs. I think I speak for everyone in this room when I say I’m actually impressed!”</p><p>Normally, Minho would be overcome with the desire to punch Snake in the face right then and there for even touching the younger to begin with and now giving his brother the most messed up compliment someone could conceive in a situation like this. However, all the older boy could think about was his dongsaeng curled up on the ground. </p><p>Hurting but alive.</p><p>Feeling the shoe on the back of his head finally let up, Minho shoved the leg away to scramble over to the younger, refusing to live without the other boy right by his side any longer. The older slightly tapped Felix’s back, trying to assist him in coughing up anymore water as he simultaneously moved another hand up and down the boy’s shaking arm to recover the heat that had temporarily left his body. Even though Felix was still facing the ground, sounding as if one of his own lungs was about to be coughed up along with the unwanted liquid, he was starting to breath a little better. Minho simply repeated apologies to his brother over and over again as he promised to never leave his side. </p><p>“Well then, it seems like you all may have gotten the message that we aren’t messing around by now, but you can never be too sure.” Everyone in the room flinched at the leader's words, Minho specifically as he guarded Felix’s body from any more torture. </p><p>However, the man wasn’t going for them. He simply walked to the entrance, opening the door to allow one more man in before they headed straight for of the side with Bts and Seventeen. On their way there, the man assisting the leader grabbed Jeonghan's arm suddenly and threw him back in place with his other members, quickly shackling up the boy's free ankle as Jeonghan fell into a tight hug with Hansol and Mingyu. </p><p>Afterwards, the leader looked right at Buffy, “Chain those two back up and meet us outside once you are done.” Before anyone could react, the other three kidnappers, apart from the muscled man, headed for Namjoon. It was now Jungkook’s turn to try and fight the men, but Minho, along with every idol in the room who had gotten punished for doing the same exact thing, knew it would be useless.</p><p> Jungkook was soon restrained by one of them as Namjoon was taken without resistance, knowing he would much rather take on the inevitable punishment rather than watch his maknae get hurt like the rest. The older boy tried to calm his dongsaeng. However, his attempts were cut short as he was eventually led out of the room with Jungkook’s cries still following after, pleading with the men not to take his hyung.</p><p> Buffy now looked over at Minho and gestured for him to move Felix back to their original spot, not wanting to put up any sort of fight. Thinking of his brother’s health first, Minho led the way to their corner, supporting his still shaking member by linking their arms together. The kidnapper then clicked their restraints back into place and left without another word. </p><p>With the kidnappers finally out of sight, the groups were now split between staring pitifully at a very pale Felix, who sounded as if he could be hyperventilating,  and trying to comfort a distraught Jungkook separated from his hyung, the only constant source of comfort he had. </p><p>Minho, however, was unaware of anything other than the shivering member in his stiffened arms. He simply kept rocking him back in forth, humming along with the movement as he diligently tried to calm down the smaller boy. It was only a few minutes ago that Minho was strong and resilient, telling himself that both he and Felix were unbreakable. </p><p>That is, until now, when Minho knew that if he were to look into his dongseang's eyes, he would merely see a reflection his own shattered self.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>All right, so I'm pretty sure you all know at this point that I SUCK at updating on time! However, I have made a promise to myself and you guys to write more so that I can actually have chapters up for you all sooner!<br/>Anyway, I hope you liked this update, and I wish you all the best this week &lt;3<br/>Also, I honestly did not realize until I had created the punishments in chapter 12 that Stray Kids would be the ones filmed again (it was chosen since it was the least gory of all the options)!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. The Last Straw</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV Yoongi from BTS<br/>WARNING: mentions of torture in this chapter!!!!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yoongi was currently spending his time at the police station with Jin and Jimin now. Both Hoseok and Taehyung had spent the night there, waiting for any news to come up with no luck, and by morning, they definitely needed to get some food in their system and go to sleep. It took some convincing, but he was finally able to get his younger brothers to give up their post for just a bit with the promise that he would give them any updates if something were to happen.</p>
<p>So far, the police had been working on tracking the email addresses used by the kidnappers in addition to checking out abandoned warehouses close by the drop off area. While there may be the slightest chance they could crack the sender’s location, it would be highly unlikely for the gang members to make such a fatal mistake. Not only that, but they can no longer receive messages from these addresses which could prevent new information from being given to them, but they had to try. Everyone had been far too desperate, willing to go over any evidence multiple times rather than wait for anymore bad incidents to happen.</p>
<p>Yoongi himself truly hoped they would achieve some kind foothold in the case and fast. Those punishments read out by Wooyoung had left him, as well as the rest of his members, on edge along with Stray Kids. Ateez had already felt the pain of their failure when the picture of Seonghwa had been sent, leaving the younger group in disarray. Some boys would stare off into nothingness while others would refuse to leave the station for even a moment, insisting that any toll on their bodies was nothing compared to what their missing brothers were going through.</p>
<p>It hurt everyone to watch such a hopeless response.</p>
<p>Looking over at Seventeen, a group they had known pretty well throughout the years, Yoongi felt the need to check up on how they were doing, seeing as how such a question appeared to be important to ask nowadays.</p>
<p>Getting up from his place beside Jin, whom he had been leading their group with for the past few days since Namjoon was gone, Yoongi approached where both Seungcheol and Minghao had been sitting silently with one another.</p>
<p>“Hey guys, how have you all been holding up?”</p>
<p>Seungcheol glanced up with drained eyes, “Probably the same as you all. Wanting this whole crisis to be over and finally have our members back. Honestly, these past few days have felt like a fever dream, and I seriously need to wake up.”</p>
<p>Completely agreeing with the leader’s words, Yoongi shook his head in understanding before exploring his curiosity further, “Also, how has Jun-ssi been?”</p>
<p>Seungcheol simply pointed at Minghao, “So far, he has spent the most time over at the hospital with him. Some other members took that spot for the time being, but Minghao has all the updates on that matter.”</p>
<p>Now looking at the younger boy in a somewhat expectant gaze, Yoongi waited for him to respond, “When Jun-hyung first woke up, he had a pretty serious panic attack which he had to be restrained for. However, it seems as if those memories have mellowed out since he no longer experiences severe flashbacks regarding the event. Although, he does have frequent nightmares that need to be taken care of.”</p>
<p>Yoongi looked at the exhausted members with sympathy as he knew dealing with a member in the hospital on top of trying to find their other missing brothers was far from easy, “I’m sorry to hear that, but that means his surgery was successful, right?”</p>
<p>Minghao shook his head in confirmation, “That appears to be the only thing that has gone right. Because of his improved condition from that, Jun-hyung was given the option of answering a few questions about what he can remember from the night they were taken. He immediately accepted the offer since his first priority, along with all of us, is finding them. However, his recollection didn’t go too well, and he couldn’t remember much about the kidnappers.”</p>
<p>~flashback~</p>
<p>
  <em>Minghao was sat with Chan on the right side of Junhui’s bed, giving the boy any form of support needed to answer the questions the police had prepared for him. With the room filled with other medical workers such as a therapist, two nurses, and a doctor, it was obvious the situation would be even more stressful for the healing boy, and everyone wanted to make sure he wouldn’t push the limits of his mental and physical health.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“All right Mr. Wen, I know this is going to be hard for you. Are you sure you want to follow through with this?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The therapist was fully aware of how important finding the missing boys was, but if she didn’t do her job and protect the well-being of her patient, who knows what might happen to him. Trauma survivors are always a tough case to gauge as aggressive or fearful reactions may cause more harm than good. Therefore, she wanted to be as safe as possible.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Watching the young boy looked at his brothers with determination in his eyes before shaking his head ‘yes,’ she continued on, “Okay, let us know when anything gets to be too much.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The lights in the room dimmed as he was provided an environment similar to the night of the incident in order to stimulate anything that could be hiding in his subconscious.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Starting from the beginning of the evening, when the power shut off, what do you remember?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Junhui took a deep breath before his eyes focused in on his slightly shaky hands folded into his lap, “At the beginning it was only dark. I was reaching around for the other members to make sure they were still there and safe, and we decided to meet up with everyone else to head for the exit. That’s when the kidnappers approached us.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Now that he was getting in deeper to the more painful parts of that night, Chan reached out to comfort his hyung, letting him know they were there.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Junhui simply continued, “The first one we saw was disguised as a security guard and held up a bright light, so we couldn’t see his face well. The man had a deep, raspy voice, telling us to follow him to the exit for safety, but he started leading us towards the back of the building rather than the front which made me suspicious.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Junhui closed his eyes in an attempt to dive further into his memory, “I just didn’t trust his motives, and I tried to lead Jeonghan-hyung, Mingyu, and Hansol away from him, but it was too late.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It was clear the memories were coming back faster, but so was the pain, “T-That’s when this,” he pointed to his bandaged shoulder, “happened, and all I can remember is a sharp pain piercing my body before I fell down with static filling my ears.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The boy had started to slow down after that moment, failing to remember anything other than the feeling of being shot. Chan squeezed his hand harder as the therapist spoke up, “Is there anything else you recall? Perhaps sounds or smells?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Junhui took an uneasy breath as he thought for a few more seconds, going over everything, “I-I think.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Something was coming back to him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I remember hearing Jeonghan’s voice in the distance. He was crying, asking me to say something.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The boy’s heartbeat started to pick up as the broken memories flooded his mind, “There was a deeper voice in the background as well. One of the kidnappers said something to them, but I can’t remember what.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Silent tears appeared at the corner of Junhui’s eyes as he pushed himself more and more, “The flashlight was shining all around. I could even catch the sight of my own blood pouring out of my shoulder, but at one point, the light hit the arm of one of the kidnappers, revealing the tip of a tattoo.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Before anyone could question what it looked like, or if he saw anything else, Junhui began speaking too quickly for them to catch up, “I tried to reach for them, but I couldn’t.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The medical workers all looked around each other in concern as Junhui seemed to be falling into the beginning of a panic attack.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Mr. Wen, are you—”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The therapist was interrupted by his pained cry, “They were leaving! But I couldn’t move! I couldn’t stop them!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He seemed to actually be returning to that moment now, begging his brothers to come back when they weren’t actually there. The older woman looked back at the nurse behind her, “Turn on the lights, now!” She then turned towards Chan and Minghao in a worried demeanor, “We need to calm him down before he goes into full blown panic.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Understanding the severity of their situation, Chan now covered both of Junhui’s shaking hands with his own while Minghao tried to get the older boy to look him in the eye, “Hyung, can you hear me?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>However, Junhui wouldn’t stop shaking his head back in forth, mumbling words through his lips that no one could decipher. They all knew that if he didn’t come back soon, he may have to be sedated, and with all the progress Junhui had made so far, that was the last thing they wanted to happen.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That’s when an idea popped into Minghao’s head that might actually get the boy’s attention. Reaching his hand forward cautiously, Minghao was about to caress the older’s tear-stained cheek, “Junhui.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Dropping honorifics for only a moment, the younger spoke in Mandarin, “You’re okay. We are here.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Whether it was the words spoken or the shock that came with hearing his native language, Junhui stopped shifting around in a frightened way as he slowly opened his eyes again. Although they were a pitiful puffy red, it gave both of his members a feeling of relief as they were finally able to break through to him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The older boy then looked down at his fingers interlocked with Chan’s and moved his gaze up the arm of their maknae, “C-Chan?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The youngest boy shook his head in confirmation that, yes, it really was him, but before he could get a word out, Junhui turned his head to look at Minghao, his eyes softening as he realized the older boy had been the one to break him out of his trance with their shared heritage.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Rushing forward into the boy’s arms, Junhui suddenly looked like the smallest member there as he held onto Minghao for dear life, “I’m sorry!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>However, neither Chan nor Minghao were willing to listen to their brother blame himself, “It wasn’t your fault, hyung. You did your best, and we are so proud of you.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Chan reinforced the other boy’s words by moving his hand up and down their broken member’s back, giving him all the time he needed to recover from the recollection of such a horrible experience.</em>
</p>
<p>~end of flashback~</p>
<p>Caught up on the news with Seventeen, Yoongi continued speaking with the members about some other related subjects before Seungmin from Stray Kids suddenly shot up in the air, sending the chair he had been seated at flying backwards into the wall with a loud thud.</p>
<p>With his startling action now having got everyone’s attention, Yoongi watched as Hyunjin approached him, “What happened Seungmin?”</p>
<p>The younger boy, however, just stared at his phone in shock as he tried to process what the bright screen showed, “I-I got a message.”</p>
<p>They all were left wondering why that seemed to be such an important piece of information until Seungmin finished his statement, “From Felix.”</p>
<p>That one name caused everyone to jump up in immediate interest as their hopes were now being raised. Bang Chan was the first to react, “How is that possible?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know! It just popped up!”</p>
<p>Seungmin quickly unlocked his phone to follow the notification, finding a new video attachment sent from the contact.</p>
<p>While everyone was in favor of playing the video, wanting to know if it could help save their members or not, the police officers had finally caught up to the situation, getting a slight inclination that the message was not going to be what they wished for. They knew the the kidnappers would not let such mistakes slip through their fingers like that.</p>
<p>“Wait, it could be—”</p>
<p>Before Officer Kim could warn them in time, the voice of Jeonghan echoed from the iPhone speakers. Seventeen all raised their heads and moved closer to the phone, wanting to know what happened to their brother. However, the sight they were met with was all but pleasant.</p>
<p>Thick lines of purple wrapped around the terrified boy's throat as he read from a piece of paper in his hands with a scratchy voice. Some of the members gasped in horror at his surprising appearance, while others like Seungcheol and Jihoon, bundled their fists in anger.</p>
<p>Even though the volume was raised to its highest setting, all the commotion sounding from around the room prevented anyone from actually hearing what the boy was saying. The ones watching the video, mainly Stray Kids and some Seventeen boys since their members were the ones in focus, tried to quiet down everyone there, yet it was too late as Jeonghan stopped talking and moved out of the frame. While the officers tried to clear their way to get Seungmin who possessed the new, mysterious video, they couldn’t make it through, hearing only the loud pleas from Minho as he cried for the men to stop what they were doing.</p>
<p>Yoongi himself was close enough to see the screen. Despite most groups trying to gather around the small device, just to get one glimpse of what was on it, there weren’t as many idols there as before. Some members had left for rest or food, or even to clear their minds that were much too full of stress and exhaustion from the past few days.</p>
<p>The instructions weren’t heard too well with the movements and whispering of voices but looking at the metallic tub filled with water plus Felix placed over it, it wasn’t too difficult to put two and two together, especially with the punishments in their minds from the failed transaction.</p>
<p>Seungmin, too stunned to do a thing, allowed the video to keep playing as they all watched the men force Minho into shoving Felix underwater, starting a timer for an awful two minutes to go by. The complete and utter weakness in Minho’s composure as he was made to participate in the worst of consequences just proved how sadistic these men were.</p>
<p>For a while, nothing seemed to happen as Felix did his best in holding his breath, Minho’s silent cries being the only noise heard. The Stray Kids members present, Seungmin, Changbin, Chan, and Jisung, stayed frozen in place, probably praying for their brother to stay strong and keep going.</p>
<p>However, it was only a little bit later before Felix began to struggle. Seungmin’s extended arms shook as he tried to watch the painful scene, feeling tears coming to his eyes at Felix’s panicked movements. The rest of the boys attempted to support him in some way, yet their focus remained solely on the screen as well.</p>
<p>They watched with horror as the drowning boy got more frantic, trying to break out of the confinement underwater while Minho pleaded with the men to let him go. The scene was almost too much to watch, some of the viewers backing off to take a break when suddenly, Minho threw his hands off his brother’s head, granting the smaller boy a chance at freedom.</p>
<p>Those in the room let out a sigh of relief for only a mere second before Minho was struck across the face, and Felix shoved into the tub again. Seungmin finally had enough of it and threw his phone down onto the table with anguish as he couldn’t make himself watch anymore. While Changbin grabbed the younger boy to lead him away, Chan moved to recover the fallen device, looking as if he were moments away from losing his mind at the dreadful picture his brothers made. Yoongi watched, along with the last few idols who could actually stomach the scene, and waited for Felix to make it.</p>
<p>The boy had to.</p>
<p>As the video went on, Jisung could no longer hold back either “They’re torturing him! He won’t make it! Oh god, what if he doesn’t make it!”</p>
<p>Even though Chan was the last Stray Kids member left to comfort him, the leader refused to take his eyes off the screen, wanting to know the outcome just as urgently. Therefore, Yunho put a supportive hand on Jisung’s back, not being best friends with the distressed boy, but also not willing to watch the boy suffer alone as Jisung tightly wrapped his arms around his body, trying make himself disappear from the world.</p>
<p>The last few seconds of the video played out with Minho crying in a similar way to Jisung as he begged for their brother’s life. However, nothing could stop Felix's constant struggle with the icy water, losing his last bit of air as time marched on. Yoongi actually felt himself hold his breath with the boy. It’s funny how he can barely know someone yet care so much, begging for his survival to be the final outcome.</p>
<p>Watching the time run down, they were amazed to see Felix never give up and felt some hope arise within themselves that he could actually survive from this life-or-death situation. As their faces got closer and closer to the phone in anticipation, crossing their fingers desperately for the best, a sudden, loud alarm sounded from the speakers that caused the video to end without any resolution as to what became of Felix’s well-being whatsoever.</p>
<p>Now, no one could tell if he had made it or not. Sure, his body had a little bit of strength left in the last few seconds, but the moment of complete relief that would come from watching Felix finally raise his head from the deadly water was robbed from them all.</p>
<p>Jisung joined Seungmin and Changbin in their little huddle, crying painfully with them, but Chan just stood there, watching the black screen which had pictured his younger Aussie brother there not too long ago. Yoongi looked around at the other boys, wondering who would approach the distressed leader first, but Chan was already on the move before they decided.</p>
<p>The boy was silent, grabbing his possessions around the room before walking towards his members, “I’m going out to find them.”</p>
<p>The room was now silent with shock as the police officers approached him, “Mr. Bang, please be realistic and—"</p>
<p>He turned around at them with a composure of fury that tried to mask his growing anguish, “And what? Felix is alive! Both he and Minho are perfectly fine! And I’m going to find them right now!”</p>
<p>Changbin watched his brother with a heavy heart, “Hyung, I—”</p>
<p>“Are you going to tell me to stop? To give up and fail them again!”</p>
<p>Changbin was immediately silenced by those words, knowing it hit a nerve for them all.</p>
<p>Chan then turned to grab Kim’s collared shirt with quivering hands, “We can’t just do nothing! We have to save them!”</p>
<p>His grasp began to weaken, revealing the true form of heartache behind his words, “I can’t just do nothing.”</p>
<p>Watching as the older boy slowly broke down, Jisung suddenly stood up to embrace his miserable leader, sobbing harder for Chan’s faded voice, “We can’t lose them. That’s our family.”</p>
<p>Jisung then peered at the older, giving him the most reassuring smile he could manage, "And we won't. We will get them back."</p>
<p>Allowing himself to calm down and think due to the younger's words, Chan finally collapsed with his other members, the boys falling into a much-needed group hug after all they had just been through in the span of only a few minutes.</p>
<p>After giving them some time to express their sorrows, Officer Kim was about to respond with what should happen next when three sharp knocks suddenly came from outside their meeting room door. Everyone, aside from Stray Kids, now focused on the new intrusion as the visitor simply busted into the room with no warning followed by another man who was holding a light brown package in his hands.</p>
<p>“Sir, someone delivered a package for you.”</p>
<p>Not wanting to deal with anymore issues right now, Kim simply massaged his temples in frustration, “Okay, just put it on my desk.”</p>
<p>The two men, however, didn’t back down, “It says urgent.”</p>
<p>Rolling his eyes at their insistence, the officer questioned him further, “What’s the sender’s address?”</p>
<p>“That’s the thing.” The intruding policeman appeared to be confused himself, “There is none. It was left on our doorstep randomly.”</p>
<p>The new anonymous information immediately raised suspicion around the room as this whole afternoon was now dressed in a dark, menacing feeling.</p>
<p>Interested in what these mysterious contents could be, Kim motioned for the men to come over to him and Choi, taking the package and box cutter from the second man’s hands to open the strange delivery.</p>
<p>The two new officers stepped back before they could see what was inside. Kim and Choi, however, jumped back in repulsion as the flaps to box were forced open.</p>
<p>“Jesus Christ.”</p>
<p>Officer Kim merely paled at the hidden contents while Choi literally gagged as he turned to lean on the nearest wall for support.</p>
<p>Jin, who had been closest to the officers, went to see what was inside, but Kim simply pulled it back, not wanting to scar the boy for life, “You won’t want to see this.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
<p>Yoongi watched as his oldest hyung carefully approached the officers further, “What is in there?”</p>
<p>Everyone now had their focus on what it could possibly be, observing the older bts member’s patience began to run thin, “You can’t keep hiding these things from us! Otherwise, we will give up on your help and get them back without you!”</p>
<p>The order was said with as much passion as Jin could muster up, yet Yoongi knew it was all a false promise. Yes, they had been upset with the officers for endangering their members with their unsuccessful ideas, but they had all the resources and support. The idol groups would have nothing if it weren’t for them, and like it or not, they had to rely on these men.</p>
<p>Watching the curious expressions morph into ones of determination, the officers did not want the boys to be even more frustrated with them for ignoring their words. Looking at Choi with eyes full of regret and frustration, Kim took a deep breath before staring into Jin’s eyes with a serious glare none of them had seen from him before, “I’m insisting you remain unaware for your own protection, but I can’t keep you all from the truth forever. If you would like to know, I can tell you what is inside.” His dark eyes began to slightly lighten as he tried to sympathize with them now, “Just know that you can’t turn back.”</p>
<p>Despite his warnings over and over again, the boys never learned their lesson, staying strong for the brothers they swore to get back no matter the cost. Even if none of them could come back the same. They merely stood there, waiting for the men to answer them and refusing to back down.</p>
<p>Kim then closed the box and handed it to Choi, choosing to voice out the truth rather than expose them to the gruesome sight, “It’s two of Kim Namjoon’s fingers.”</p>
<p>The wave of utter abhorrence that had just washed over the entire room was unlike anything the idols had ever experienced.</p>
<p>It was as if darkness had come to life itself and touched the souls of each and every one of them.</p>
<p>With everyone reeling back from such horrific news, keeping away from the box which felt cursed to even look at, Choi headed over to the two men who had given them the message, “Check the footage for delivery right now and track down who was responsible!”</p>
<p>Chaos now erupted all across the room at that point. The police continued to give out orders to track the sender down and search for the location of Felix’s phone while the other idols groups were shuffling around in some form of distress. Jin was trying to comfort Jimin through his own free-falling tears as the younger was both distraught and sickened by the terrible update not even being able to fathom how they would inform Hoseok and Taehyung of the disturbing news.</p>
<p>Yoongi wished he could have helped his brothers rush to the bathroom as they could feel their stomachs turning in nausea, yet he couldn’t get himself to move, only thinking of Namjoon.</p>
<p>The same boy he used to fight with in their trainee days over leadership, who later became a necessary backbone in his and the whole group’s life. The leader who took the freedom in letting go of his burdens in front of Yoongi who understood him all too well. The same boy who produced with him for hours, days, weeks, even years on end, always having to wake each other up from a spontaneous nap at their desks to finally go home for a well-deserved break.</p>
<p>Yoongi didn’t cry. He was a strong man after all, only letting his true feelings come alive around his closest friends and family, and even then, he hated crying around them as if he were a vulnerable creature too delicate to touch.</p>
<p>No, he simply held his head high, not letting the world know that it finally got to him.</p>
<p>He did the same thing during the rough days of his youth when he didn’t even have enough money for more than one basic need in a day, or when he would work so hard that the physical pain in his damaged shoulder was the only thing that could stop him from moving on further.</p>
<p>No, Yoongi did cry.</p>
<p>He didn't allow himself to do so until this day.</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>Adding on to Mingyu’s injured leg and Seonghwa’s major burns, Felix wasn’t doing too hot either. Literally. They were all worried the boy could have hypothermia from the harsh exposure he endured from the freezing water, considering the boy had been given various articles of clothing to keep warm, yet nothing could stop him from shivering as his nearly purple lips continued to smack against his chattering teeth.</p>
<p>On the other side of the room, Jungkook was still dealing with the absence of his hyung. Unlike Wooyoung when Seonghwa was taken, the younger bts member cried initially but simmered down to a creepy silence as he barely moved, talked, or did anything outside of running around inside his own mind. Mingyu had tried his best in comforting his close friend, trying to tell Jungkook that it would be okay and that he could confide in him, yet the boy appeared unresponsive to anything.</p>
<p>Because of that, it startled everyone when Jungkook finally spoke for nearly the first time after Namjoon had left, “Wooyoung, what will happen to him?”</p>
<p>A heavy silence fell over the room at that.</p>
<p>Based on what happened with Seonghwa and Felix, they knew the truth would be far from pleasant. It was normal for Jungkook to be overly concerned about such things, yet they all worried for what the answer would do to his already fragile mentality.</p>
<p>Wooyoung simply looked at him with pitiful eyes, not wanting to hurt the boy further “I-I’m so sorry.”</p>
<p>Jungkook finally picked his eyes up from their hypnotized focus on the ground and gave him a pleading stare, communicating a silent wish for the boy to share any information about his hyung.</p>
<p>However, the young Ateez member refused to be swayed, “Knowing will just make you feel worse.”</p>
<p>Right after that, Jungkook lost it. Tears began to collect in his eyes as the hauntingly small voice he spoke in was now morphed into a desperate cry, “Please!” They all felt their hearts swell for the poor boy, “I just…I need to know what my hyung is going through right now!”</p>
<p>His voice soon returned to its normal, soft tone, “Please.”</p>
<p>Knowing that anymore attempts to hide the truth would most likely end in failure, Wooyoung bit his lip in unease as he began to uncover what the kidnappers promised, “O-Okay. For every tracking device implanted within the briefcase, Namjoon-ssi will…”</p>
<p>Everyone paused in frightful apprehension as Wooyoung experienced a hiccup in his speech, terrified to mutter out the next few words, “Lose a f-finger.”</p>
<p>Multiple gasps were heard around the room in alarm, not wanting to believe in the possibility of such an awful reality to become of anyone. However, the one person that hardly had a reaction was Jungkook. His eyes merely widened in dread before he asked one more question in a calm voice, “How many were there?”</p>
<p>“T-Two.”</p>
<p>Wooyoung looked to the ground in shame, almost as if he were the one responsible for putting them in there.</p>
<p>Jungkook on the other hand, started to lose his solid composure as his lips began to tremble in response to the younger boy’s answer. Mingyu then pushed through any pain he was feeling at that moment and moved over as close as he could to the other boy, putting his arm around him in comfort as he knew Jungkook would need some type of support during this time.</p>
<p>Watching the other boy’s reaction, Wooyoung felt an enormous amount of guilt outcome him for what happened, “I’m so sorry!”</p>
<p>Seonghwa, who had gained back some energy from his long slumber, tried his best in pulling Wooyoung into his embrace, “It wasn’t your fault Wooyoung.”</p>
<p>However, the younger thought differently, “But it is! I was the one there. I could have—”</p>
<p>“What?” Hansol immediately interrupted the incoming rant Wooyoung was headed towards, “Controlled the case itself. Taken down four men twice your size to stop it?”</p>
<p>The younger boy gazed at him with big eyes.</p>
<p>“Your hyung is right. There is nothing you could have done. We can’t keep blaming ourselves for these things that are out of our control.”</p>
<p>Taking in Hansol’s words, the groups all sat there quietly for a while, thinking of how to improve their situation when the basement door was suddenly shoved open to reveal three men coming in with Namjoon in tow, holding his left hand that was wrapped in a dirtied white cloth. The leader wasn’t crying or nearly passed out like Seonghwa, but his face showed obvious signs of torture as he was led towards Jungkook.</p>
<p>The younger boy looked up with an expression of relief and dread. His was glad his hyung was finally back, yet he knew that meant the older was permanently changed for the worst.</p>
<p>Jungkook then scowled at the men who still had their evil grasp wrapped around his brother as they locked him back up just like the rest. There was a discernable fire behind the maknae’s eyes, as if he were ready to fight these men at any cost, yet he remained collected for the time being, only displaying signs of concern for his brother in the moment.</p>
<p>The kidnappers left as soon as they came, not even uttering out a single word pertaining what had unknowingly occurred during their absence, and the whole room was now given a chance to check on the bts member’s very much worrisome condition. The leader didn’t even have more than a few seconds before Jungkook faced him with a serious look, “Hyung, let me see.”</p>
<p>Despite the obvious pain he was in, cradling his bandaged left hand, Namjoon still wanted to protect his caring little brother, “Jung—”</p>
<p>However, the younger was not dealing with any his excuses, “Let me see!”</p>
<p>The older appeared to be conflicted. He didn’t want to get mad at Jungkook for showing his concern, but he was already dealing with so much agony from the past hour that anything was close to pushing the pained boy over the edge.</p>
<p>Being responsible for his dongsaeng for over several years, Namjoon knew the boy wouldn’t give up, especially when his family was involved. Therefore, he decided to just give up and do as Jungkook wanted, slowly unwrapping his hand with a wince as the other boys from the different groups chose to either look away or remain focused on the reveal like Jungkook.</p>
<p>With the white cloth fully removed, the younger boy merely stared down at the Namjoon’s grisly hand with disbelief, his held back tears finally falling as his voice cracked, “Where are they?”</p>
<p>The older almost looked more apologetic towards his dongsaeng than himself, “Jungkook, please.”</p>
<p>“Where are they!” Any attempt to calm the boy down was thrown out the window as he finally let his emotions free, “They’re gone! Really gone! And you just had to suffer. Alone!”</p>
<p>Jungkook immediately hugged his hyung, trying to support and heal him in anyway he could, barely conceiving the idea that the brother he had looked up to and loved with all his heart for nearly his whole life had been treated in such an inhumane way.</p>
<p>And that he couldn’t do anything to stop it.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>That phrase had been expressed by nearly every idol in that cold dark basement, using it as if they were the cause behind this excruciating mess. It was clear nothing was their fault, yet the guilt and fear had been taking their minds captive for far too long, causing damage that may takes months, even years, to heal.</p>
<p>Namjoon merely did his best in patting the younger on the head with his normal hand, “I’ll be fine Kookie. I promise.”</p>
<p>If this whole experience had proven anything, it was that the boys, just like Namjoon, were tougher than they could ever believe. They were willing to do anything to save those that they loved, and that one notion became the only thing to push them forward.</p>
<p>To give them hope.</p>
<p>It even gave Namjoon the motivation to actually grumble out last the few words he had been drilling into his mind over past few days, needing for all the boys to hear his thoughts once and for all.</p>
<p>“We are getting out of here.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is the longest chapter I've ever posted! Took forever, but I finally got it done!<br/>Also, I'm beyond excited for the next update because it's the one we've all been waiting for... the ESCAPE ATTEMPT!!!! Will they make it? Will they get caught? Anything can happen ;)<br/>Thank you all for being so patient and kind with my writing! Have an amazing week, and stay happy and healthy &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. The Message</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV Jungkook from bts<br/>Warning: violence and mentions of blood in this chapter!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Their escape plan was set to commence the next time one of the kidnappers would come visit them for a daily checkup. With such intentions now filling the room, all the boys were now on high alert as they waited for the opportunity that would determine their ultimate failure or success in this attempt.</p><p>Most of the plan relied on dealing with the kidnappers in waves. So far, the boys had mostly encountered the three main men that came to visit them: the leader, Buffy, and Snake. However, Namjoon had recalled seeing someone else in the shadows when the men came to take Seonghwa away that one time, hinting that there were probably more members than what was let on.</p><p>Therefore, the first phase of their plan was based around dealing with only one gang member so that they could take the man’s keys while restrained and be able to release themselves and fight their way out. It was clear that Mingyu and Seonghwa couldn’t initiate in much physical activity, so they were placed last in the releasing order. However, any of the other boys were ready to use what little physical strength they had left to do all they could in reaching their goal.</p><p>From that point on, it was all about clearing a path for the two bts boys to run away. They all had planned on manipulating the remaining kidnappers to come downstairs for the other idols to deal with while Jungkook and Namjoon make their escape.</p><p>Mulling over the last-minute details of their strategy, everyone in the room was caught off guard when the door to the basement slammed open to reveal only one man, Snake, as he brought various bowls of rice for the idols’ sustenance of the day, possibly even week.</p><p>The man didn’t say much as he threw the portions around to each group, all the idols watching the scene intensely as they knew it was now or never.</p><p>It was essential that they complete this first part silently. Any sound from Snake could alert the men upstairs of what was going on, allowing them to come down with reinforcements that would overwhelm the boys far too much for them to even get close to escaping.</p><p>Therefore, Jungkook was responsible for starting off the plan simply, “I have to use the restroom.”</p><p>Rolling his eyes in annoyance, the man moved back in their direction as he looked at Namjoon, “All right then. You know the drill. He’s got to move back.”</p><p>Hoping their prepared excuse would suffice, Jungkook tried speaking in a defeated voice, “He’s passed out cold. After you returned him yesterday, he has barely responded to anything.”</p><p>Despite his decent acting skills, Snake was not about to believe the younger boy immediately as he then faced Namjoon. Jungkook could feel his chest restrict in nervousness when the man raised his hand to the older boy’s face, tapping him harshly to make sure that he was actually asleep.</p><p>Luckily for them, Namjoon withstood producing any movements that would reveal their hidden intention to the man. Satisfied with the lack of reaction he was receiving, Snake finally relented and went to unlock Jungkook’s ankle cuff, “Try anything, and you’ll regret it.”</p><p>Jungkook simply nodded his head in compliance to fool the kidnapper further. Once the man finally opened the cuff, he quickly grabbed Jungkook’s wrist in an attempt to drag him over to the bathroom per their usual routine.</p><p>Only this time, when the man pulled on the boy’s arm, he felt a resistance from Jungkook, squinting his eyes in a disapproving look as he was about to say something. However, any words were muffled by Namjoon suddenly shooting awake and shoving a piece of cloth into Snake’s mouth to silence him while Jungkook moved forward to hold down his limbs.</p><p>With the man unable to produce any sound, Jungkook then held him into a headlock, hoping for him to fall unconscious soon. Despite the tremendous amount of trauma these men had inflicted upon each and every one of the idols in the room, Jungkook still felt decently intimated to actually be straggling someone. To feel their arms struggle against him as he knew their only desire was to breathe in the air right in front of them. To know he could be stealing the life from another if this was done incorrectly.</p><p>However, such a dilemma did not halt Jungkook from following through with the plan as he continued applying the same amount of pressure onto his neck, feeling the guilt leave his system as he thought back on Jeonghan and Felix’s similar situations not too long ago.</p><p>It didn’t take much longer for the man’s struggling to stop as his eyes began to drift shut due to a loss of consciousness. Both Jungkook and Namjoon waited a little longer before releasing him since they were worried Snake could suddenly wake back up and warn the others in some way. So after only a few more seconds, they actually let go, watching as the man in their grasp now slide to the floor quietly.</p><p>With the first phase of their plan being a success, Jungkook quickly rushed to get the keys while Minho spoke up with a whisper, “Do all you can to unlock more people. We will watch out for you.”</p><p>Glad to hear the words of support from the others, especially after conducting such a risky effort, Jungkook shifted over to his brother first since they were the ones responsible for actually running away. The younger boy quickly found the same key that had unlocked his cuff in the beginning and shoved it into the little opening to Namjoon’s ankle chain, knowing there couldn’t be any other alternate possibilities with the limited number of keys on the ring.</p><p>Once he had gotten the other boy’ legs free, he flipped through them again to search for the key that would open their handcuffs, but without any inclination as to which one it could be, Jungkook felt a slight panic surge up within himself as he kept trying and failing with most of the keys, praying that the right fit would come to him soon.</p><p>However, not even a few seconds later was the match found, allowing the younger boy full freedom as he let out a small, “yes,” before he used the same one for Namjoon.</p><p>Once the older member was released as well, Jungkook ran over to Seventeen while Namjoon moved to close the door and hide, getting ready to catch any newcomer by surprise if they suddenly walked in on their escape.</p><p>Jungkook reached over to unlock Hansol first, planning on releasing Jeonghan second since those two were deemed the best fit to fight. His next move would be to free Wooyoung and then possibly unlock Stray Kids after, but they all knew it would only be a matter of time before the men upstairs would notice their colleague’s prolonged absence and come down to investigate.</p><p>Just as Jungkook completely finished with Hansol and was on his way to Jeonghan, they all lifted their heads in alarm as footsteps sounded from the hall outside their room. Knowing they would need much more help than just three people, Jungkook sped up releasing the older Seventeen member before the men could reach the door.</p><p>Successfully freeing Jeonghan in the nick of time, Jungkook soon looked up to spot the entrance finally creaking open, revealing the leader with a suspicious gaze planted onto his face and another man trailing behind to see what had been going on. Just as their eyes widened in shock after stepping into the room, Namjoon managed to catch the leader by surprise while Hansol charged right for Buffy who was too late to act on his realization of what was going on.</p><p>“What the f—!”</p><p>The leader was knocked right onto his ass before he could finish, Namjoon now crashing on top of him with a grunt as he fought with all he could despite his very much injured hand. Jungkook moved to help Hansol while Jeonghan ran over to Namjoon’s strife with the leader,</p><p>Even though they had the advantage of surprise on the duo in the beginning, Buffy seemed to have recovered pretty quickly as he dodged Hansol’s second attempt to drag him down and even got in a few hits in on the boy himself, “You damn brats!”</p><p>Jungkook watched in horror as Hansol was then tossed into the middle of the room after receiving another harsh kick from the kidnapper. Jungkook soon jumped in and tried to run at Buffy, using the element of surprise against him once more, but it seemed as if the man could predict their moves and used the younger boy’s own momentum to throw him onto the floor next to Hansol.</p><p>Ignoring the rush of pain his body felt when making contact with the ground, Jungkook was about to go after the man once more until Hansol pushed his shoulder down lightly, “Leave him to me. You have to focus on getting out.”</p><p>The Seventeen member then gave Jungkook a supportive gaze to motivate the other boy before going after Buffy. Jungkook desperately wanted to disregard his words and help the other boy, but another part of him knew that escaping was his duty. That Hansol was counting on him for that job and not the temporary struggle against their muscular enemy.</p><p>Hearing a loud thump on the other side of the room, Jungkook looked over to find Jeonghan kneeling on top of the leader’s arm, a gun held in his hand menacingly, while Namjoon stood up from the unconscious man, nodding in appreciation to the Seventeen member before he ran towards the door.</p><p>With two of the kidnappers out cold, Jungkook knew this was their best chance at making it out and went to follow his hyung. However, what Jungkook didn’t realize was that Buffy had managed to throw Hansol right off of him again, a strong grip now crushing the Jungkook’s wrist to stop him from moving forward.</p><p>The young bts member glanced up at the man in a mixture of fear and determination, getting ready to put his all into fighting back until the hold on his arm suddenly loosened as the man now crashed down onto one knee.</p><p>Shocked at what just happened, Jungkook looked down to see that Minho, despite being still chained up, had reached over far enough to trip the man and knock the kidnapper right off of him. Giving Jungkook a fixed gaze, Minho yelled to him, "Go! Now!”</p><p>Snapping out of his trace, Jungkook stuttered backwards a bit before he hit the side of the doorway, watching the scene unfold in front of him rather than actually running away. The leader was still motionless on the ground, but Buffy, their biggest challenge right now, was still ready to take them on as Minho held tightly onto his foot while Jeonghan and Hansol surrounded the man as well.</p><p>Closing his eyes with a plea that he would be forgiven, Jungkook made his way out as he regretfully left the other boys with their demons, quickly shoving the door closed to give himself and Namjoon more time. Deciding to block up the door in case Buffy couldn’t be contained by the two, or rather three boys, Jungkook searched around the extremely darkened hallway for anything else to push against the door, even if it was just for a little while.</p><p>While looking around, he caught sight of Namjoon struggling with a door at the left end of the hallway. Still having the keys in his pocket, Jungkook yelled to his brother before throwing the ring right at him so that the older could get it open.</p><p>However, out of the corner of his eye, Jungkook suddenly spotted a second door on the opposite side of the hall that could be their exit instead and quickly went to relay this information to his fellow member, “Namjoon-hyung! There’s another door here!”</p><p>“It’s not that one!”</p><p>Surprised by his brother’s certain response, Jungkook questioned him further, “How do you know?”</p><p>Namjoon slightly froze in place, as if he were revisiting a memory, before he moved to fit another key into the door he was occupying, “I just do.”</p><p>It took a few seconds for Jungkook to register the weight behind those words and felt his heart drop, realizing that the door probably led to where Namjoon and Seonghwa had been taken to be tortured. Trying to ignore the heavy guilt that came from hearing such a statement, Jungkook was about to continue with his task before hearing a click in Namjoon’s direction of the hallway. Realizing the older had finally gotten the door open, he ran right for the exit that his brother was motioning for him to come towards now.</p><p>Once he had caught up the older, they both raced up the stairs that had been right behind the door, but before reaching the top, they needed to be careful and look out for any gang members possibly wandering nearby. Slowly moving their heads around the corner, ready to either make a run for it or go into fight mode, both boys checked the surrounding area.</p><p>After taking extra time in surveying the place, Namjoon deemed the path clear and led them both to the right, as the new room they were in fit the description of a normal warehouse layout with big windows on all the walls and lots of open space around. The boys had to be cautious while moving, yet fast to give themselves time and prevent anymore unwanted interactions.</p><p>Scanning the room, Jungkook felt a tap on his shoulder, Namjoon diverting his attention towards a door across from them, a broken exit sign swinging from above it. The realization that they could actually make it out suddenly dawned on Jungkook as a soft smile graced his face in near relief. Neither of them hesitated to sprint towards their desired destination with quiet footsteps as they made it across with surprisingly no trouble.</p><p>Or so Jungkook hoped.</p><p>Right as Namjoon creaked the door open, basking in the glow of the moon that was the only source of outside light they had seen in days, Jungkook felt himself get yanked backwards by his collar, harshly slamming into the concrete ground with a grunt.</p><p>Glancing up through the stars dancing around in his vision, Jungkook’s eyes widened as an unknown man stared back at him with obvious anger, “Just what do you think you’re doing?”</p><p>The boy froze in fear at that, simply hoping that Namjoon had kept on running ahead of him rather than risk his freedom by turning back and attempting to save the younger. However, his hyung, being the selfless person he is, had already moved to tackle the man off his brother, managing to knock him down in surprise before quickly moving to pick up Jungkook.</p><p>As he checked on his dongsaeng for any head injuries, the man behind them had already managed to recover from the attack, standing up to now charge towards the duo with a knife in his hand aimed for Namjoon. Spotting the new threat headed straight for the abdomen of his older brother, Jungkook immediately pushed the other boy out of the way. The knife, instead, grazing across the younger’s side.</p><p>Jungkook hissed in pain at the new wound in his skin but was thankful the weapon had gotten him rather than his original target which would have caused much more damage.</p><p>Trying to ignore the fiery sting now shooting through his body, Jungkook looked up from his place on the ground to spot Namjoon now going head-to-head with the foreign kidnapper. The man gave him an evil smile as he stepped closer to the young boy, knowing that even without the knife in his hand, his sheer size and strength was enough to intimidate the other.</p><p>Jungkook bit his lip in anxiety for his hyung as the kidnapper soon rushed for him, throwing most of his weight into the approach, but rather than see Namjoon try and avoid the attack, Jungkook sucked in a panicked gasp as his brother merely ducked underneath the man’s extended arm to then stick out a foot for the taller to trip on.</p><p>His brother’s plan actually worked as the gang member soon hit the ground hard with the knife that was in his hand skidding across the room next to Jungkook once he lost his grip.</p><p>The small sense of relief Jungkook felt for Namjoon was immediately replaced by immense distress when he saw the man growl through his teeth in frustration, kicking at his brother’s unguarded legs before jumping on top of the boy once Namjoon fell to the ground. The gang member then took the opportunity to slip his hands around the bts leader’s throat, causing Namjoon to let out choked sounds of panic as he couldn’t remove the weight from on top of him.</p><p>Witnessing his own brother being strangled right in front him by one of those hellish kidnappers triggered something within Jungkook as he felt a new wave of energy surge through him. They were so close, and this one moment could ruin everything. He had to do something! Anything! To stop the man from possibly killing his own hyung.</p><p>Jungkook then looked around the room, trying to come up with any plan to knock the enormous man off his brother when he spotted something sharp laying right next to him.</p><p>Something the gang member had made a huge mistake in dropping.</p><p>Lifting his head up instantly once he heard Namjoon’s breathing become dangerously desperate, Jungkook knew what he had to do right then and there. He swiftly grabbed at the discarded knife on the ground, clearing his mind of any doubts it could generate in the moment as he rushed up to the two and plunged the weapon right into the kidnapper’s side.</p><p>With the man now loosening his grip in shock, Namjoon was able to free himself just enough to punch him right in his damaged side, escaping from underneath him as the gang member fell down in overwhelming pain. Not wanting to waste any more time, Namjoon jumped up to stand next to his shocked brother who could only stare at the blooded knife in his hands.</p><p>Jungkook remained frozen as his brain tried to process the fact that he had just stabbed someone. It was all in self-defense but everything about it had felt so wrong. He felt almost evil for even having to do something like that.</p><p>However, accepting that realization would have to wait as two more men raced into the room in response to the ruckus, not expecting two of their captives to have actually joined them upstairs in a surprising escape attempt. Not wanting to fight their way through anyone else, considering taking down one had taken far too much effort than they could afford, Namjoon grabbed Jungkook’s shaking hand and raced out of the open door, never looking back.</p><p>Both were running as fast as their legs could carry them, shouts and flashlights arising from a very angered gang following behind them.</p><p>Lying ahead of the two boys was a long driveway stemming from the warehouse. Even though following its path would np doubt lead them in the direction of, hopefully, a main road with other people, both bts members knew that taking such a route would only allow the men in pursuit to keep an eye on them and possibly catch up.</p><p>On the other hand, there laid a dense group of trees on both sides of the driveway, the forest being large enough to hide their tracks. Making a quick decision on what would be the best outcome, Namjoon led Jungkook right into the woods, taking a few turns to mess up the men behind them, but never losing sight of the direction the driveway had been pointing to as it could lead them to the main road.</p><p>As they continued to twist and turn through the darkened trees, highly attuned to everything around them that could be a threat, Jungkook suddenly heard a shout of pain from Namjoon as his older brother tripped before colliding with the ground.</p><p>The younger merely whispered out a “come on!” to his brother, trying to lift the boy up but only getting a weak grunt in response. Jungkook was becoming more impatient by the second as he waited to know what was wrong, looking expectantly at the older who was now cupping his ankle in his hands.</p><p>That could not be a good sign.</p><p>“I think I sprained it.”</p><p>Jungkook felt his blood run cold. Out of all times Namjoon could have gotten a leg injury, it had to be now? The younger couldn’t just leave him there. He and Namjoon were supposed to escape together, and Jungkook intended to keep it that way.</p><p>Ignoring the resistance from the other boy, Jungkook merely leaned down to pick his hyung up quickly, “All right, then I’ll carry you—”</p><p>Namjoon just shoved the younger’s hands away, “Jungkook, there’s no time. You need to go alone.”</p><p>“What!?” The younger could hardly believe his ears. Of course Namjoon would choose to sacrifice himself for everyone else, and Jungkook knew that carrying him would slow them down significantly. However, the thought of leaving behind his brother made him absolutely sick. Namjoon deserved to be the one to leave seeing as how he had already been traumatized enough. Jungkook thought that it should be his own self laying on the ground with a wounded ankle, not the other way around.</p><p>Trying to stutter out any excuses to save his brother, Jungkook felt tears come to his eyes as Namjoon simply shoved him away again, “Run! Now!”</p><p>Backing up from the older slowly, it was the next few words that gave Jungkook the strength to continue on running, even if it were without his member.</p><p>“Don’t let our efforts be for nothing!”</p><p>Gaining back the drive he needed from those last few words, Jungkook flung himself upwards swiftly, looking down at his brother one last time, “I’ll come back for you. I promise.”</p><p>With no time left to respond as lights from the kidnappers’ flashlights now hit the trees near them, signaling that they were close, Jungkook sadly nodded his head toward his hyung before turning in a sprint, hoping Namjoon would actually hide from the men rather than use himself as a distraction to give the younger more time.</p><p>Brushing past the wooden branches and wild bushes surrounding him, Jungkook could feel tears gathering in his eyes as he thought about what he had just done. Ever since he saw Namjoon when checking out BigHit as a company to join, Jungkook was drawn to the confidence and comforting personality of the older boy. He spent so much time just watching his hyung produce lyrics seamlessly that would take anyone else weeks to create and edit. The younger boy absolutely admired him, not only as a role model in music, but as an amazing older brother. No matter whether or not their group was angry with one another, distressed from tight schedules, or feeling down due to scandalous or hateful comments, Namjoon would always be there reassuring them that it would all work out. Sure, the leader may throw in some weird analogy his genius brain had come up with to approach the situation, but it was exactly that unique personality that united them all in the first place.</p><p>Leaving his hyung behind would probably be one of the hardest decisions Jungkook would have to make in his life. It was now only the waiting faces of Jin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin, and Taehyung that kept the young boy running until he could reach the final clearing in the trees up ahead.</p><p>Dashing over there as if his life depended on it (as it probably did along with multiple others), he came upon an old road that appeared to be far off the beaten path. Jungkook could try and wait for a car to come by, but that chance seemed highly unlikely to occur with the new empty feeling the territory gave. Even more trees lined the other side of the cracked road that merely cut through the forest as an afterthought.</p><p>Faced with this new dilemma, the young boy could feel the apprehension inside of him begin to fester up uncontrollably. Namjoon was most likely captured by now and being taken back to the basement right at this very moment. That also meant that if he were successful in escaping, the men would have no more need for his already tortured brother and kill him on the spot.</p><p>As he felt his time to decide run down quicker and quicker, Jungkook felt tears of frustration run down his face rapidly.</p><p>He was going to fail.</p><p>He couldn’t do this.</p><p>Even if the men couldn’t track him down fast enough, the kidnappers were already aware of his escape, and they could easily transport the rest of the idols somewhere else in order to not get caught. Or they could simply get rid of them all, taking the money they had managed to receive and leaving with just that since their captives weren’t worth the trouble of keeping them hidden for any longer.</p><p>Rubbing his bloody hands against each other in a useless frenzy to rid himself of the red color, Jungkook only became more frustrated when the substance merely spread, almost mocking him as if it knew that the burden on his shoulders wouldn’t go away just like the blood.</p><p>Watching tears fall onto his crimson hands as if he had just given up, Jungkook simply concentrated on the irregular fall for a few seconds until his eyes widened brightly with a new idea. Amongst all the issues that could arise from his escape, Jungkook realized that only a deceptive plan would be their best shot.</p><p>Glancing down at the knife he had shoved into his belt from the man he and Namjoon had fought, Jungkook knew what he had to do. The young boy ran over to the nearest tree on the side of the road and began carving familiar lines into it, making the indentions as blatantly obvious as possible while he worked. Shouts and rustles were heard in the near distance, yet the boy couldn’t care less, only moving faster in his actions.</p><p>Finally done with the first part of his new plan, Jungkook stuck the knife into the tree as he moved to look back at his masterpiece, reading out big characters that said:</p><p>
  <em>Help</em><br/>
<em>-Jk</em>
</p><p>Next, he found the open wound on his side, relatively easy due to all the pain he had simply been pushing aside, and bit his lip in preparation before applying pressure on the gash, trying to hold back any loud screams as the warm liquid dripped down onto the road in a dark red painting, bright enough for drivers to recognize the concerning sign (if it hadn’t rained by the time they came by it).</p><p>Deeming the little path he now made enough (in combination to the concerning amount of blood he could be losing now), Jungkook ripped off one of his shoes to complete the last step, tying it to the longest tree branch extending towards the road. The peculiar sight it made would not only bring more attention to his message but provide evidence for his other brothers to identify.</p><p>The kidnappers were getting far too close for comfort as Jungkook could now hear each individual footstep. Sweat dripped down his face in terror as the boy knotted the shoelaces together in security. With no time to admire his final work, Jungkook ran into the forest in a diagonal line, trying to appear lost rather than headed right back in the direction of his nightmares which could cause suspicion.</p><p>As the lights now reached the border of his vision, Jungkook ran further to the left, away from his detailed message, as he heard in the distance, “There he is! We’ve spotted him!”</p><p>The young idol allowed his panicked legs to carry him a little longer in an attempt to fool the men. Hearing the crunch of grass and leaves increase in volume, Jungkook felt one last tear slip down his face in desperation, hoping by even the most minuscule chance that someone would stop by and see his message.</p><p>Rubbing the stray tear away to calm his composure, Jungkook felt a strong hand suddenly shove him forward, causing the boy to faceplant right into the dirtied ground below as he struggled against the various hands tugging at his erratic limbs resisting their grip. However, it was no use as his face was shoved further into the ground with a familiar metal binding his wrists together once again.</p><p>“You really thought that would work bitch?”</p><p>Jungkook felt a swift kick to his side make contact with his open wound, causing the young boy to gasp out in pain, not being able to produce a scream in that moment anymore.</p><p>The men merely snickered at his suffering before yanking him up by his hair, Jungkook gritting his teeth in response.</p><p>“Getting you back may have just saved your fellow member, but” the disgusting breath of one of the men brushed past his ear dreadfully, “you all are going to be wishing for us to end your lives once we are done with you.”</p><p>Finally being led back to the house, taking a few more hits on the way from the two men behind him, Jungkook could only ask for forgiveness in advance towards the other idols still there. They were probably going to feel utterly hopeless knowing that both he and Namjoon were captured despite their best efforts.</p><p>But that was good and bad news. The bad news was that every idol who had put their upmost faith in them will believe it all was a failure. The good news was, so did the kidnappers.</p><p>They didn’t find the message, giving Jungkook a small sliver of optimism that his plan would work, and that these next few hours of hell that they will no doubt experience will be worth it in the end.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry guys! I really tried my best in getting this chapter out earlier to you all, but these last two weeks have been pretty stressful. Don't worry, I've got it all figured out now, but I just wanted to let you all know that I'm really trying to update faster and more regularly (even though it may not seem like it)!</p><p>Anyway, this chapter was nuts!! Will Jungkook's plan work out? We'll see ;)</p><p>Thank you all for the amazing support and patience, and I hope you have a fantastic week &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Who was it</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POVs: Mingyu, ??? (new character), and general<br/>Warnings: blood and violence with be mentioned in this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mingyu, along with the rest of the boys who were left in in the basement, were trying their best to regroup after the sudden chain of events that had just played out. At this point, they had done just about all they could to stop the men from following after the bts members, and now, they just had to wait and see if it was enough.</p><p>Unfortunately, it seemed as if their hopes may have been misplaced too soon once Namjoon was carried into the room accompanied by a new limp to his figure. Most of the boys tensed up in apprehension as one of the boys who was supposed to escape came back, and they feared the possibility of Jungkook following not too long after. </p><p>However, the boy didn’t show, and for a second, Mingyu felt some hope lift the burdensome worries within his mind until he heard a low groan near his side, reminding him of the task he had to deal with in the moment. Currently, he was huddled together with Jeonghan and Hansol as they tried to help the younger member with his newly dislocated shoulder as a result of his fight with Buffy. The whole confrontation had felt like a fever dream even though it occurred only a few minutes ago.</p><p>~previously~</p><p>After Jungkook had taken off towards the entrance, slamming the door shut with remorse in his eyes, Minho’s grip had been kicked away from Buffy easily followed by Hansol being beaten and thrown off again. This time, the boy let out a howl of pain as his shoulder crashed into the ground hard. With Hansol showing no signs of getting up soon, it was only Jeonghan against the big man, and Mingyu felt tears of anxiety come to his eyes not only for his older brother in danger, but for Hansol too as he clenched his teeth together in pain from where he laid on the concrete. </p><p>With the man approaching Jeonghan in intimidating steps, the boy did the last thing anyone would expect of him as he suddenly picked up the gun that the leader had dropped earlier and pointed it towards Buffy with quivering arms. It seemed as if the man was initially shocked too, but he soon let out a smirk before falling into a short burst of laughter afterwards, “You don’t really think you can shoot me, do you?”</p><p>Jeonghan merely stared back at him with big, intense eyes, obviously unsure of himself as well but refusing to back down.</p><p>Confident in his words, the large gang member continued to lessen the gap in between him and the frightened boy, causing Jeonghan to scoot back in response, until he was eventually cornered.</p><p>“Let’s make this easy on both of us and give me the—”</p><p>Before he could finish, a deafening bang sounded from the gun with a stray bullet grazing the side of the man’s arm, the wound not deep at all, yet still there. Jeonghan screamed as he dropped the weapon afterwards, almost as if the thing had burnt him. Meanwhile the rest of the room was silent, apart from some of the other boys’ cries in response to the horrific sound that brought back unpleasant memories from the night they were taken. </p><p>Jeonghan was curled into a ball, covering both of his ears in fright when Buffy shook off his surprise and stomped up to the boy in rage, grabbing him by the hair and making Jeonghan cry out in pain.</p><p>“Damn, didn’t think you had it in you, bitch. Too bad you missed terribly.”</p><p>The man then dragged Jeonghan by his hair over to where Seventeen had been chained up and threw him into the wall to stop his resistant struggling, connecting him back to the ankle chain since he did not have time to deal with the boy right now. Buffy then hurried over to do the same with Hansol, scowling at the boys for taking up even more of his time, “I’ll deal with you later.”</p><p>Once he was done with getting things in order in the basement, Buffy then ran to the entrance, kicking at locked door multiple times before it broke open and allowed him to follow the bts members who were hopefully long gone. </p><p>Meanwhile, Mingyu could only scramble over as far as he could to his wounded brothers, tears streaming down his face as he hoped their torture wouldn’t have been for nothing. Watching as Jeonghan continue to shake from what had just happened, he whispered, "Hyung, why did you do that?"</p><p>However, the older just shook his head, seemingly just as surprised as the rest of them for what he had done. Gathering back some of his awareness, Mingyu listened in carefully as the boy simply responded with a small voice, "I-I needed to face that fear, so when it comes down to it, I won't hesitate to protect you guys from them."</p><p>Mingyu's eyes widened in realization of what had actually went through his brother's mind. There was no way hurting Buffy was going to change anything. If Jungkook and Namjoon were going to get caught, then it would have already happened by the hands of someone else, and Jeonghan knew that.</p><p>Instead, pulling the trigger meant that his older brother was prepared to give up his own humanity. For them.</p><p>Even if such thoughts were supposed to comfort him, Mingyu felt nothing but misery and rage for being forced to make such decisions in the first place. It all just left him wondering, what did they do to deserve this?</p><p>~end flashback~</p><p>“All right, we are going to count down now, okay? One, two, three.”</p><p>What followed after was an audible popping noise accompanied by the muffled cry of Hansol as his joint was pushed back in place by the combined efforts of Mingyu and Jeonghan. Even though they were far from experienced in that area of expertise, with the procedure being extremely risky if executed incorrectly, the younger boy needed it to be done if he were to use his arm again.</p><p>Luckily for them, the boy’s arm appeared to no longer be hanging by his side uselessly, indicating that it was probably back in its correct orientation. However, that didn’t prevent the overflowing concern the older members felt as they began flooding Hansol with comforting gestures as the boy was still reeling back from such a painful experience.</p><p>A few more supportive words later, and Hansol took the cloth out of his mouth with his undamaged hand, about to reassure his brothers that he was okay, when shadows approached the entrance of their room. The relief that had seemingly dawned on them from Jungkook’s prolonged absence was immediately vanquished into dust when said boy was also shoved into the room, completing the set of nine boys just like before. </p><p>Namjoon's reaction to his brother was the only activity found in the room as he rushed to check on Jungkook who would no doubt be returning with some kind of harsh treatment adorning his body from the evil men that tracked him down. However, no one else could move a muscle as a familiar sinking feeling arose in their hearts. </p><p>It was over. </p><p>They had failed.</p><p>Their only shot to take fate into their own hands and escape while they could was merely a wish of the past as the remaining men chained those who were still free back up to the wall and reapplied their handcuffs, tightening them to make it even more painful for the boys. It was only when the two unconscious men were carried out the room that the gang finally left them alone to wallow in their defeat.</p><p>A few seconds after they slammed the door closed, a small voice piped up from the corner of the room belonging to Wooyoung, “So, we failed?”</p><p>The silence as a response was exactly the confirmation he needed to suddenly burst into tears and curl up into the side of his brother once he realized all that they did was for nothing. However, Wooyoung wasn’t the only one who had tears streaked across his face as many of the other boys felt their freedom slip right between their fingers. </p><p>Looking over to see how Jungkook was faring with this situation, no doubt overcome with immense guilt, Mingyu was surprised by the sight his friend made. Even though the boy had on a distraught expression, there was something else hidden there. As if his sadness wasn’t one of failure, but more of regret and hesitation. Like he expected their reactions yet didn’t feel quite the same himself.</p><p>He pitied them. But why not himself?</p><p>Unfortunately, all of Mingyu’s observations would have to wait as the same crew they dealt with on the daily came in not even thirty minutes later. This time with a much more hostile look spread across their faces than usual (if that was even possible). The leader, who was knocked out cold last time they saw him, was of course, the first one to share his dire thoughts as he leaned against the broken entrance, “Well, well, well, you all have made quite the mess around here today, and I can tell you.” The man stared at each of them with flames of anger swallowing his eyes, “I am not happy.” </p><p>Making his way around the room, as the man normally did to try and initiate some sort of intimidation tactic, the leader read his plans aloud, “You know what I was thinking could be great punishments for this behavior?” Such a giddy appearance from him always meant that something was about to go very wrong, “We could reciprocate all the wounds you caused us!”</p><p>He first looked at Namjoon, “Bang your head into the concrete ground.” His eyes then moved to Jeonghan, “Shoot you in the arm.” And lastly, he glanced at Jungkook, “and worst of all, our poor friend upstairs is nursing quite the awful stab wound. You wouldn’t happen to know about that, now would you Jungkook?”</p><p>The boy simply looked away from the leader, not giving him the satisfaction of a reaction, but the man didn’t seem to care as he leaned back to stretch his neck out that was probably still stiff and damaged from the fight earlier, “But, before we get into all of that fun stuff, there is one thing we need to know.” His voice then lowered to a dangerous tone, “Whose plan was it?”</p><p>The boys merely looked around at each other in alarm as they had no idea what to say. Bts and Ateez were the first ones to propose the idea of escaping, but ultimately, it was all of them who formed the plan together. Therefore, throwing someone under the bus was impossible to fathom, even if they did have one obvious outlier who planned it all out. </p><p>Fed up with the lack of response, Snake, who appeared to be even more furious than the rest, stepped forward, “It’s obvious that you all were in on it, but someone had to have initiated the thinking behind such a stupid idea. So, who was it?” </p><p>Still, no one spoke. After all, what could they say? Mingyu himself already had a fractured leg that was hard to manage in the first place, and his members were not doing much better with Hansol needing to recover from his shoulder injury and Jeonghan having taken multiple wounds throughout their time there. Ateez still had Seonghwa who needed emergency medical attention for his burn wounds that could possibly get infected if not treated soon, and Wooyoung had shut down after taking part in the money transaction. </p><p>Then, there was Stray Kids who had been beaten up the most and even psychologically tortured by the kidnappers. Any more trauma inflicted onto those two could pose serious damage to their physical and mental health that was already hanging on by a mere thread.</p><p>Lastly was bts, with Namjoon obviously not in a good condition to withstand much more, and Jungkook seemingly changed after his escape attempt. Everyone there had been touched by these gang members’ torture in some way and to even think they could get abused further was a complete and utter nightmare. If someone were to actually speak up like the men were asking, a disastrous outcome would be unavoidable.</p><p>“Well, if no one is going to own up to it, then I guess selected volunteers will have to do.” Snake suddenly shot forward, backhanding Jungkook, the one who had strangled him not to long ago, across the face while Buffy walked towards Stray Kids who cowered into the wall behind them . </p><p>Watching as his close friend and the two weakened boys were now targeted unfairly, Mingyu felt a need to step in, even if he barely knew half of these idols outside of this horrific experience they shared. </p><p>However, when he finally thought of the words he wished yell aloud at the men, they refused to roll off his tongue. The hero complex he fell into now caught in his throat as Mingyu realized one key thing: he was afraid. </p><p>He wanted to help, wanted to be the brave one and bear the weight of what would be a severe consequence, yet he couldn’t even open his mouth. Stray Kids, who had already suffered so much, and one of his best friends in the world were both about to see even more of the unforgiving darkness the world had to offer, and Mingyu was just going to watch?</p><p>How could this happen? Was he really that weak that he can’t get over one little injury to help someone else? Was he so selfish as to not do anything?</p><p>In the midst of the inner turmoil erupting from the panic in his mind, Mingyu’s train of thought suddenly seemed to freeze when a voice next to him filled the room instead, “It was me!”</p><p>Slowly moving his head to the right, Mingyu joined everyone in their obvious shock towards Hansol’s outburst. </p><p>No. </p><p>Not him. </p><p>From the beginning, Hansol was always the one against the idea of escaping, trying to protect the well-being of everyone over partaking in a plan that might not work (which, unfortunately, is what happened). Of all the people to sacrifice themselves right now, his younger brother held the least responsibility to do so. </p><p>Buffy then turned from his path towards Stray Kids to focus his storming eyes on the newly terrified boy, “Oh really?”</p><p>Despite Jeonghan and Mingyu about to refute his admittance to the deed, Hansol quickly shook his head, the leader now smirking from his spot in the middle of the room as he muttered, “Well then, this should be interesting.”</p><p>----------</p><p>"I am the Best," was blasting around in the young couple’s car as they continued on their road trip. The man in the driver’s seat was singing along horribly while his wife tried to stop his pitchy performance, laughing along with the silly nature of the man she loved. </p><p>With her eyes covered in embarrassment, the woman let out a string of giggles that eventually bubbled down into silence once her husband suddenly stopped singing and turned down the music for some unknown reason. Glancing up at him to see what the problem was, the woman merely saw a disturbed look on his face as he gazed out onto the landscape in front of them. </p><p>“Honey, do you see that?”</p><p>Following his line of sight, what the woman found in front of them was less than pleasant. “Oh my god! Is that…blood in the road?”</p><p>Feeling the car begin to slow down, the woman looked at him in alarm, “Why are you stopping?”</p><p>“Just to see if it's actually real. Someone may need our help.”</p><p>Feeling extremely hesitant about the situation, which had already seemed to be very dangerous, the woman reluctantly agreed to follow him out of the car, moving to observe the scene with a hand on her phone just in case.  </p><p>The liquid they had spotted in the street was thickened and dark up close, yet it was hard to tell if it was actually the worrisome substance they had assumed it to be. Watching as her husband squatted down to inspect it further, the woman instead looked around the area, meeting the strange sight of one singular shoe tied to the branches above them. It appeared to be worn down which struck the woman as quite odd since she recognized the brand design on the bottom and realized that  it normally belonged to those of an upper class. As she was about to touch the object herself, the woman heard the voice of her husband speak up, “Honey, look.”</p><p>Glancing over to where his hand had been pointing, the woman gasped as she saw frenzied carvings scratched into the same tree, accompanied by a knife that was dressed in what could only be blood, “Oh god. Do you think this is serious?”</p><p>“It’s better to be safe than sorry, call the cops.”</p><p>Nodding her head along with his plan, the woman went to report this incident to the local police station, hoping that the situation they stumbled upon wasn't as bad as it looked.</p><p>----------</p><p>It was yet another draining and torturous day at the police station with little to no answers. The only information ever relayed to the idol groups was normally about another warehouse being crossed off the list of investigations followed by the false promise that the officers were getting “closer” to finding their brothers. While many of the boys still wanted to stay at the there just in case something popped up, it became harder and harder to do so as they were drained of energy by just being there, replaying the same last moments with their members in their head as if they hadn’t been feeling guilty enough. </p><p>With the officers coming in and out of the meeting room throughout the day, the boys had busied themselves with any form of distractions while waiting for more news when suddenly, a man burst into the office, looking around frantically, “I need someone from each group to come here now!”</p><p>Wondering what the man could possibly be going on about, the boys all shared confused glances around the conference table before Seungcheol, Hongjoong, Jin, and Changbin got up as volunteers for whatever he had planned. With the situation feeling as if it could possibly lead to some important information, the four boys hurried over to his side as the man shoved two different pictures in front of them, one illustrating a simple abandoned road with an old tree in the frame and another that was a close up of a random shoe hanging from the same tree’s branches. </p><p>“Do any of you recognize this shoe?”</p><p>Following their command, all four boys scanned the pictures for any familiarity, having no luck until Jin sucked in a breath, “Oh my god.”</p><p>With everyone in the room now looking at him, Jin grabbed the second picture with haste, examining it to make sure his suspicions were correct.</p><p>The idols all found themselves holding their breath in anticipation of what Jin could have possibly seen, “That’s Jungkook’s! We were wearing the same shoes for the performance that night, yet we all had a different tint of color in each of ours. That was his!”</p><p>With the new information now swirling around the room, all the boys felt their hearts suddenly come alive with hope as the officer muttered out the last few words that would change everything, “We found them.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Those officers better get there fast! That's all I have to say...<br/>And fun fact, I mentioned "I am the Best," by 2ne1 in this chapter and that was the first kpop I ever listened to, so when I just needed a random song to add in, I figured why not that one!!<br/>Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this update, and the next one will be even crazier!!<br/>Also thank you all for the kudos and comments! Your support truly means so much to me and is the biggest reason I can share my story with you all. So to my lovely readers, thank very very much &lt;3</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. An Uncertain Rescue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POVs: general and Hongjoong from Ateez</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The idol groups could hardly believe it. Finally, after days upon days of constant worrying with tides of despair clobbering over them throughout this whole experience, their members could come back. The attitude of the room was something to be behold as joy seemed to overtake those present while they messaged and called the others at home with tears welling in their eyes to share the new information. The boys on the other end of the phone dropped everything to meet them at the police station. All of them feeling a renewed sense hope in their hearts for the safe return of their families.</p><p>Slowly but surely various members would burst into the room, running up to their groups as they begged to hear the words in-person that the good news they had been told was the actual truth. With confirmations and tight hugs being passed all around the room in a mixture of relief and anxiety, the idols had to wait for everyone to arrive before they were given instructions about what to do next. </p><p>The resulting delay they had experienced felt like torture itself as they waited for everyone to show up before the briefing could commence. However, it all paid off as many of the boys arrived not too long after the news had spread, sitting around the table with tears of happiness and apprehension still collected within their quivering eyes as they held hands or paced around restlessly. Once the last person had finally entered into the room, Officer Kim and Choi followed them right after, adorned in protective gear as they were prepared to take the next step in recovery. Kim was the first to step forward to begin their composed speech, “I know you boys are relieved to see you members again, but there are some things we need to go over to prepare you for what is to come.”</p><p>Several nods were seen around the table, the boys not wanting to waste any more time without their missing loved ones by their side. </p><p>“First of all, we may have tracked down the warehouse where the idols are located, but they still need to be recovered. Therefore, you all still need to be aware of the outcomes linked to this situation, including any miscalculations in recapturing them.” </p><p>Everyone in the room tensed at the mere notion of the rescue being a failure. They no longer had the capability to deal with such a hopeless and painful situation continuing on, even if they knew it was sensible to listen to the men pleading with them to maintain an open mind. </p><p>“There is only a small percent chance of that actually happening, but I want you all to be ready for anything. We are assigning our best teams to this mission, so I promise, we are giving it our all.” </p><p>Finishing up his thoughts, Kim stepped back to allow Choi to say his far share as well, “If all goes as planned then the second phase will be taking them to the hospital. We are already aware of the various injuries some of them have been afflicted with. However, there could be more that are unknown. Please allow them to receive treatment before you try to converse or reconcile with them for too long.” </p><p>Having to relearn the virtue of patience after being separated from their brothers was going to be a challenge for all the boys, but if it was for the good of them all, then they would do everything they needed to provide them with the best care possible. </p><p>“Speaking of treatment, it is common for the boys to be wary of any outsiders after experiencing such extreme trauma. Even if we promise not to cause them anymore harm, they make act hostile towards us. Therefore, we will allow one member from each group to come with us in a protected van following behind the rescue squad in case they need the reassurance of a familiar face. The rest of you will have to wait at the hospital Mr. Wen has been staying at nearby for their arrival.”</p><p>Finishing off the last details, Choi made sure to clear up any issues he knew would face the boys after this whole ordeal, “Obviously, it is highly unlikely that any of the kidnapped idols will be the same after this, but not all of them will react in the same way. Some may want to be in contact with you excessively while others will desire the complete opposite and wish not to be touched whatsoever, even if it is by someone they care for deeply. Many will also experience panic attacks from PTSD, including mental breakdowns that could lead to physical altercations, so please, request for professional help if you cannot handle the situation.”</p><p>Even though the boys knew this themselves, having looked up various articles of information pertaining those affected by trauma, hearing it being said aloud was much different. As if it were now real.</p><p>“From this point on, things are going to change for everyone here. We will be there to support you boys even after the rescue attempt when legal actions are being carried out, but a lot more responsibility is now being shifted to you. I say this not to scare you, but to prepare you all for the uncertain future we face.”</p><p>Absorbing the flow of words that were quickly thrown at them, the groups took their time in mulling over the all information, even sharing concerned glances amongst one another. All of them knew that none of this would be easy, and their ability to support the traumatized boys would be challenged more than ever.  However, if there was one thing they could all agree on, it was that they were prepared to move forward with this plan. For their brothers, that is the only choice they have. </p><p>With determined gazes collecting back to the two officers at the front, some of the idols additionally nodding to their previous statements, the men shared a  look before Kim straightened up from where he was standing, “All right then. We are ready.”</p><p>----------</p><p>Hongjoong’s leg refused to stop shaking the whole way there. The groups had elected the leaders, or in bts’ case the oldest, to be the ones to go with the officers to the site. Even though it pained the other boys to give up the opportunity to see those they missed so dearly, they knew it would be for the best that the older members used to dealing with stressful situations go instead.</p><p>Therefore, Hongjoong was currently sitting along the van’s bench next to Chan with Seungcheol and Jin sitting right across from them with an officer on each side as well, one of them being Choi. </p><p>Other than the occasional words of encouragement from the policemen, the boys had remained mainly silent, thousands of thoughts running through their heads as the one thing they wished for was right in front of them. Chan and Seungcheol were normally both very vocal and passionate about their opinions pertaining to any situation they were getting into while Jin was usually the most rational, but after recent events, even his mentality could no longer withstand the separation for much longer.  </p><p>Hongjoong himself felt incredibly nervous in the moment, as if he were frozen on the spot. Of course he was beyond himself with relief that his members’ rescue was just around the corner, but there were still so many things that could go wrong right now, including the impending aftercare of their brothers.</p><p>First of all, what if the mission was not successful, and their brothers weren’t actually located there? That one was mostly his own skepticism, but then there was the question of the well-being of the members themselves. Hongjoong had forcefully numbed his own feelings over the past few days to keep a level head as a leader, choosing to block out reality rather than face what his brothers had actually experienced with Wooyoung being present for the transaction and Seonghwa having been tortured to the extreme, marked with those burns that haunted Hongjoong every time he closed his eyes. </p><p>Trying to function without the help of Seonghwa had been extremely hard for him as well. The older boy not only took care of their younger members but for Hongjoong himself, cleaning his side of the room if he came home late from producing or making sure he ate after long days of endless work. Yunho, normally a chaotic member with his goofy personality, had surprisingly stepped in to support the leader, but there was only so much that could be done.</p><p>All in all, there were two major holes in their group that needed to be restored today, no matter what.</p><p>The van they were in suddenly shook as it turned down a new, bumpy road that was used much less than the smooth path they had been following. With that, one of the officers looked up at them with a serious expression across his face, “It seems like we are getting close, so now’s the time to go over a few last-minute rules and safety procedures. I know you are desperate to see your members, but your safety and theirs is our top priority.”</p><p>The engine then slowed down to a quiet murmur before it completely stopped. Curious as to what was going on, Seungcheol spoke for the other three, “What’s going on? Why did we stop?”</p><p>“You all must stay back until it is deemed safe to move forward. Even if you hear guns firing, yelling, or any other commotion in the distance, please do as we say so we can protect you.”</p><p>However, that failed to calm them down as Chan now spoke up, “What about them! What if we could do something to help?”</p><p>Officer Choi simply responded in a reassuring voice, “That is why we have multiple teams moving in ahead of us. Your brothers will need you all for their recovery above anything else. You can’t be there for them if you are caught up in trouble you aren’t even trained for.”</p><p>His justification seemed to silence the boys for now as they all realized Choi was right, despite what they wanted to believe. Therefore, they obeyed the orders reluctantly and waited. Mere seconds felt like hours as time moved on without any new emergence from those outside. The boys heard some loud shouts and bangs outside the van in the distance, yet nothing came to them. </p><p>Chan broke the prolonged silence as he whispered, “I swear, if they get hurt even more.”</p><p>He couldn’t even finish the thought, to horrified by the thought of anymore trauma piling onto the situation. </p><p>The officers with them looked at the four idols in sympathy, probably thinking of something to say in response but also not wanting to upset them further by accident. They could tell the boys were becoming restless as time went on, but until the signal was given that it was safe, there was nothing to do but wait.</p><p>“Well, I’ve been apart of missions like this before, and I can tell you that it’s good the noises have remained far away and essentially in the same spot from what I can tell. That most likely means the gang members have been caught but are not on the move.”</p><p>Choi's words of support helped cool their nerves down a little bit. However, the longer they waited, the more those words were worn off as Hongjoong felt the desire to jump out of the van to see his brothers once again, even if that was the last thing he should be thinking of doing right now. Although, one glance around him let the leader know he wasn’t the only one thinking that as the rest had their eyes trained on the backdoor of the vehicle.</p><p>As the idea became more and more tempting, a sudden knock on the back of the van made half of the boys jump in their seats, Hongjoong slightly invading Chan’s space as he backed away from the startling sound. Choi then got up from his seat, hand trained on his holster just in case, as the idols got over the initial shock to lean forward to see who it was. </p><p>When the double doors finally shot open, bright sunlight from the outside began to leak in, causing them all to squint their eyes in response while an officer clad in a padded police uniform pulled down his mask to update Choi on what had happened, “Our commander has finally secured the area and deemed it safe for the boys to approach. It seems as if our current situation may need their intervention.”</p><p>Such news balanced delicately between the good and bad in Hongjoong’s mind. He was thrilled to hear that the squads were successful in their mission, but knowing they needed to intervene probably meant either his members, or others, were not cooperative with the police as they would have liked. </p><p>Jumping up and out of his seat with a renewed feeling of energy, Hongjoong felt restless as he waited for the rest to get out and follow Choi down the dirt road to the house of nightmares that their brothers had been trapped in over the past few days. </p><p>Walking around with minds clouded by worries concerning what could possibly be going on, the boys followed closely behind the two men guarding them, wanting to sprint to wherever their members were, but knowing they couldn’t do that just yet. As they quickly approached the warehouse, an old looking building that appeared to be abandoned as it had broken windows adorned with rust and vines climbing up the sides, shouts were heard all around the place with a lead female officer they had never met before yelling out to a few men.</p><p>“Get the ambulances ready now!”</p><p> Noticing their arrival, the woman approached Choi and the four boys, “We have scanned the entire premises, sir, and we have taken three gang members into custody so far.”</p><p>Nodding his head in satisfaction, Choi wanted to double check that the area was completely secure, “Good job. Are those all the men you could find?”</p><p>“Yes, sir. Those were the only kidnappers in sight. They put up somewhat of a fight, but we were able to detain them fairly easily with only two opening fire on us. One was quickly taken down with a single bullet wound to the leg while the other surrendered soon after. We found the last one in the building as he struggled to be taken into custody. However, he was also harboring a shoulder wound that seemed to have occurred outside of our invasion.”</p><p>As Hongjoong listened on, he found himself completely in shock. Sure, the men didn’t realize they were coming ahead of time with the message they received having been reported without their knowledge. However, something about the situation seemed all too easy. Only two men had guns, and they were simply taken down and into custody just like that?</p><p>Hongjoong wasn’t the only one who appeared to be suspicious as the other idols were shifting anxiously next to him, awaiting more information or the ‘okay’ to see their brothers once again. </p><p> “Going through the house, all the boys seemed to have been kept in the basement together. We may need the assistance of their group members to get them out of there seeing as how they don’t seem to trust us despite our uniforms and promise not to hurt them. A few actually threatening violence, but that’s understandable. However, we still need to get them medical attention right now.” </p><p>The woman took a break in her speech before looking at Choi with a concerned expression, “There also seems to be another issue present.”</p><p>Hongjoong felt his breathing stop as he waited for her to finish, the need to know now eating away at his mind as the seconds ticked by. </p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>The woman simply stared back at them with uncertainty, “You said there were nine boys taken, correct?”</p><p>Nodding his head ‘yes’ hesitantly, Officer Choi verified her statement. </p><p>“There are only five boys here.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What happened to them... I guess you all will have to find out next chapter!! Hehe sorry for the cliffhanger ;)<br/>Anyway, even tho this chapter isn't that long, I really hope you all enjoyed this update and have a lovely week!! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. How Nine Became Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POVs: general, Mingyu, Hansol<br/>Warnings!!: torture and violence in this chapter!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After his confession, everyone’s eyes were trained solely on Hansol. Whether it was the calculated glare from the gang members or those of absolute shock from other idols, it felt as if the weight of the world had just landed upon his shoulders from his fabricated words, and the boy almost regretted having said anything. If it weren’t for the protection of his brothers. </p><p>However, it didn’t take long for terror to overcome the kidnapped boys as they protested against his statement, fits of displeasure coming from everyone there. </p><p>“He’s lying!”</p><p>“No, it was me!</p><p>“We all played a part!”</p><p>“Don’t hurt him!”</p><p>No one could decipher who any of those shouts had come from. While it may have seemed like a good idea in trying to save Hansol from suffering alone, it only annoyed the kidnappers further and into a state of confusion as the leader finally spoke up, “What is this, some kind of competition to see who can sacrifice themselves first? Are you all really that eager for more?”</p><p>That was able to quiet most of the boys down for the time being, allowing the man to address the group once more, “Now, since you all have finally decided to settle down, would you like to tell me who the real culprit is, or should I just go with this sorry piece of shit.”</p><p>The leader’s words immediately angered both Mingyu and Jeonghan as they had to hear their brother referred to in such a derogatory way, but if there were anything this experience had taught them, it was patience. The issue of formality was only minor compared to what they were dealing with now, and they couldn’t risk letting their emotions get in the way. They simply had to focus on getting their younger brother out of any more trouble. </p><p>Before Hansol could confirm his statement again, his throat swelling up with nerves and making it hard to speak, Jeonghan jumped up at the opportunity, “It was me, sir! He is trying to protect me, but I can’t let that happen.”</p><p>The younger whipped his head towards him in shock, “Hyung!”</p><p>However, the trail of denial no doubt coming after was instead interrupted by Namjoon, “It was everyone okay! You can’t just blame him.”</p><p>Not pleased with the contradictory stories, once again, the leader rubbed his temples in exasperation, “Jesus, just shut up!”</p><p>They all hesitantly listened, not wanting to piss the men off anymore since they were already in deep trouble as it was. </p><p>The leader, finally getting the time to figure it all out, then rolled his eyes before approaching Hansol with a threatening look of his own, “Was it actually you?” His eyes seemed to darken as he added in the last few words, “Telling the truth will only help you.”</p><p>Despite the others shifting around, probably wanting to take the blame for themselves rather than watch anyone else get hurt, they didn’t say a word, simply waiting for Hansol to answer. </p><p>The boy himself had a storm brewing in his head, containing equal amounts of fear and determination. He was beside himself with terror of following through with his plan, but if it meant protecting those that were traumatized beyond belief, then it was all he could do. </p><p>With his emotions balancing on thin ice, Hansol admitted to what he thought of would produce the best outcome.  </p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>It didn’t matter if what he said was the truth or not. The kidnappers simply had to accept it for what it was, and there was nothing anyone else could do besides turn their heads in the leader’s direction as he stared at Hansol for a bit longer, reading his face for any hint of uncertainty.</p><p>It only took a few more seconds before the man finally went to lean back on his heels as he let out a deep sigh, “You really are so brave.” With everyone now worried from those first few words, they almost missed what came tumbling after, “Too bad you lied.”</p><p>They didn’t have time to question how this man knew such a thing before he grabbed Jeonghan rather than Hansol like they expected. Taking some sort of syringe out of his back pocket, the leader suddenly injected the needle straight into the boy’s neck. Jeonghan, along with multiple others, gasped in surprise at the abrupt action before the substance quickly made its way through his system, the older member eventually slumping to the ground as Hansol and Mingyu struggled against their restraints.  </p><p>“You bastard! What did you do!?”</p><p>Rather than act intimidated by their demands, the man simply shrugged it off, “Now, now, now, I told you to tell the truth, did I not?”</p><p>Not wanting to think about how his lie would correlate with Jeonghan being taken instead, Hansol tried to speak, “How—” but was immediately cut off, “We led a fucking gang in this country. If I can read through the facial expressions of professional con artists, I’m pretty sure I can take on an idol about to piss his pants.” </p><p>Hansol didn’t even have time to feel bad for himself before the man continued with his insanity, “And since you all know I am a man of my word, this next proposal should not come as a surprise.”</p><p>Pointing at their brother laying almost peacefully on the ground, the man smirked, “This poor boy will be subjected to either a bullet wound, stab wound, or a head injury, as retribution for what you did to us.”</p><p>As if that wasn’t bad enough, the leader refused to stop, “But not only that!” his excited tone of voice never meant anything good, “Since you tried to fool us, Chwe Hansol, you get to choose which one!”</p><p>All the idols in the room now understood what it meant for the blood to drain from someone’s face as they watched Hansol. His feelings of turmoil were now cut-off by a chain of desperate pleas for forgiveness, mercy, or anything that would be less cruel.</p><p>“No, please! It’s my fault. I’m not lying! Just choose me!”</p><p>However, the kidnappers were relentless as always, doing exactly the opposite of what the idols would like, “You should have thought of that before you lied to our faces. Now choose.”</p><p>Hansol’s vision and speech were interrupted by the painful sobs now wracking his body. It’s not only his fault that Jeonghan would now get hurt, but he would also feel the unbearable weight of choosing the horrible fate the older had to suffer. Such a thing made it all ten times worse, as if Hansol were the one torturing him instead. </p><p>However, before he could pass anymore pitiful words through his lips or hear some sort of formulated response from Mingyu, Jungkook was suddenly laughing out  loud to himself, the men now looking towards him in confusion. </p><p>Being slightly put off by the boy’s, apparently, dark sense of humor, Snake took his turn in speaking, “What’s so funny, Jungkook?”</p><p>His own hyung looked at him in concern, wanting the boy to stay silent and out of trouble despite Jungkook devising other plans, “Oh nothing, just reveling in how stupid you are.”</p><p>The idols couldn’t help but gape at him, wondering what in the world could have possessed Jungkook into talking back like that, especially in this moment. Snake, however, simply narrowed his eyes in a mixture of disgust and rage, “What did you just say?”</p><p>Jungkook snickered, “I called you stupid, but I didn’t know you were deaf too.”</p><p>That last line immediately landed him with a punch in the face. A second one coming soon after with Snake shaking his fists in uncontrolled anger towards to boy, and the leader now making his way over there as well. </p><p>“Jungkook!” </p><p>Shouting in worry with a bit of lingering confusion, Namjoon tried to stop them from beating up his precious maknae any further, but his already damaged hand and ankle prevented him from doing anything against the men holding his brother in hostility. </p><p>“What kind of heroic action is this? You think you are tough shit or something.”</p><p>Snake went along with slandering the boy just as he grabbed one of Jungkook’s fingers to pull back until it snapped, his cries following soon after. </p><p>“How tough are you now? We still got nine more to go.”</p><p>Even though he knew that the hits would just keep on coming, Jungkook still refused to give up his ridiculous plan, “I-I’m not, just wondering w-why you need to torture us in such a way. Must be a result of y-your own unfulfilled life.”</p><p>“Jungkook, stop!”</p><p>Namjoon’s order was immediately overshadowed by a punch delivered right into the younger’s ribcage, effectively producing a crack that caused Jungkook to gasp out in pain. However, something in him still kept moving forward as he continually coughed while saying his last bit, “Y-You already have more than enough m-money, why are we still here?”</p><p>“To prove a point!” Despite his insults, Jungkook actually got an answer out of the man, “We get what we want no matter what. Unlike you boys.”</p><p>Snake then dropped Jungkook to the floor before kicking at his stomach harshly as well, laughing at the whimper the younger boy let out as he seemingly stopped with his persistent insults, “Tell me, what did you gain from speaking to us like that?”</p><p>Rather than find out why Jungkook had even done all of that in the first place, the boy’s chance to respond was flushed out by the sound of police sirens in the distance, forcing the whole room to go silent.  </p><p>The kidnappers were now livid after understanding why Jungkook had not only sacrificed himself but stalled their time with endless questions to distract them. Looking at all the shocked yet hopeful idols in the room, the men revealed, for the first time ever, expressions of fear and uncertainty in their eyes. </p><p>With them now frozen in disbelief, Jungkook was finally able to answer Snake’s last question with a smirk, “Time for that.”</p><p>----------</p><p>“You son of a bitch.”</p><p> “Boss, there’s no time. We need to leave now.”</p><p>“And let these bastards get away with this? I don’t think so.”</p><p>Mingyu could hear the kidnappers speaking in the background, but it all sounded like static to his jumbled mess of a mind after learning the new information they all had just received. </p><p>How could this be possible? Sirens meant that someone was on their way there, but they had failed in escaping. It could be a response to some place nearby, but that wouldn’t explain Jungkook’s mysterious attitude or the men’s reactions either. What could possibly be going on?</p><p>Or more importantly, what did Jungkook do?</p><p>“Get them to the car in the back as fast as you can. Grab the boys who are not as wounded first since they’re more useful.”</p><p>Despite being utterly shocked by the last few major turn of events, Mingyu couldn’t remain clueless for much longer once he heard those next few words to snap him out of his foggy stupor. Having to put all doubts and questions aside, all the boys in the room collectively understood that they all had to defend themselves now if there is even the slightest chance for them to make it out.  </p><p>However, it would be much harder considering that this time, the men’s lives were in danger as well. Not to mention, they were already incredibly upset by the disaster of an escape that occurred not too long ago. </p><p>They would absolutely not hold back. </p><p>Since Jungkook was already weakened and in the grips of Snake, the men went for him first, deciding who else they would take with them along the way. </p><p>Mingyu desperately wished he could help his friend right now, but he had nowhere to move with the ankle cuff in addition to his broken leg. Not only that, but he also had to look out for Hansol and Jeonghan as well. </p><p>As more men filtered into the room after hearing the encroaching approach of the police, they were put to work, two of them restraining a weakened Jungkook first as he was led out the door with a blindfold on his face and a string of curses leaving his defiant mouth. Even with Namjoon near them, it was obvious he was pretty much as useless as Mingyu with his ankle injury, and the men could soon bypass him to make their way over to Stray Kids.  </p><p>Minho immediately tried to cover Felix for protection, but unfortunately, it was absolutely pointless as the men didn’t even hesitate to knock Minho out cold using the butt of a gun to crash into side of his head. Before Felix could even move to touch his brother, the man holding the gun swung it around to the front and pointed it at the unconscious boy, “The police are coming, and we have nothing to lose. Come with us, or we will shoot him dead.”</p><p>Despite those threatening words, Felix still refused to move, probably to overcome with concern for his brother who just kept on getting injured in nearly every moment they stayed there. Even if Felix wanted to do something else to save his member, he wasn't given the time to think once the kidnapper decided to fire off one bullet as a warning. The banging sound echoed throughout the room as the shot made a chip in the ground only a foot away from Minho’s head. </p><p>With no time to do anything else, too caught up in the desperation to save his hyung, Felix immediately surrendered to them and was forced to stand up, tears silently streaking down his face as he did so. Mingyu could only watch in sympathy as the young boy, with a pitiful smile, tried to memorize Minho’s still face one last time before he was also blindfolded. The rest of his body was then shoved towards the entrance as one man held him tight, pushing him against his dragging feet to quicken their pace. </p><p>Once Felix was finally gone, the remaining three men all focused their attention on Seventeen. Jeonghan was fairly easy to reach since he was already knocked out from the sedative, and Mingyu felt like kicking himself for being so pathetic that only Hansol stood a chance in saving their older brother. However, even he couldn’t make a difference with all the men around this time, and soon, Jeonghan was carried away as well.</p><p>Mingyu suddenly felt all the hope he had in his heart collapse around him as more and more of them were being taken away with freedom only just around the corner. Watching as his beloved hyung was merely carried away like it was no big deal made Mingyu realize he couldn’t let the same thing happen to Hansol. </p><p>He had to protect him.</p><p>Unfortunately, that determination alone couldn’t stop Buffy from shoving past Hansol to land a hard stomp a top Mingyu’s injured leg. The boy held back the scream building inside him with remarkable effort, but a second kick with increased pressure finally broke his resistance as an anguished cry left his trembling lips, Hansol not being able to handle it anymore. </p><p>“Stop!”</p><p>Surprisingly, the man actually listened to the boy, waiting for what he had to say before he would continue on in his torturous ways. Fortunately for him, Buffy didn’t have to wait much longer for Hansol to explain himself, “If you take just me, I won’t fight back.”</p><p>A pain sharper than that in his own leg hit Mingyu at the mere suggestion of such a thing, “Hansol, what the hell are you thinking?!”</p><p>Rather than receive any sort of logical response from his brother, Mingyu merely observed with a heavy heart as Hansol looked towards him with a broken, teary smile, “Hyung, say hi to them for me.”</p><p>Anymore words were cut off by Buffy, as he agreed to the boy’s promise, Mingyu himself trying to resist the plan from following through, but his weak punches and distance from the other made it impossible to stop. </p><p>How could Hansol do that? Willingly give himself up. For what? Him?</p><p>Mingyu could now only stare at the newly empty space his brothers used to occupy as the tears he constantly tried to hold back began to fall uncontrollably, blaming himself for not being strong enough for them. </p><p>----------</p><p>Hansol had expected that response from his brother, knowing that the older’s brain would be filled to the brim with confusion and frustration due to his lack of defiance, but he had to do it. </p><p>For everyone still left there. </p><p>The kidnappers wouldn't have any leverage over him if he decided to fight back away from the other idols, especially Mingyu, and then, maybe he could slow them down enough from taking anyone else along with them. Even if only a few of their lives could be saved from these men, then it would all be worth it. </p><p>While making his way through what he assumed to be a hallway, Hansol suddenly stopped everything he was doing to swing at the person behind him. The man was definitely caught by surprise, not expecting the boy to go back on his word, especially handcuffed and blindfolded, but apparently, this one was completely untamed when it came to his family. </p><p>Hansol couldn’t see him, but luckily, he didn’t need to once he accidentally tripped to find himself toppling over the fallen man. With Hansol landing on top, he was able to recover faster and wrap his hands around the man’s neck, even using nails to inflict pain on him in anyway he could. </p><p>Having fought Buffy before and knowing that he was obviously more fit than any of the other men, Hansol knew this would be incredibly challenging, but there was one thing he had on side: determination.</p><p>The adrenaline coursing through his veins was unlike anything else, even greater than when he went through with his part of the escape plan. Because this time, their salvation was real. It could be heard echoing through the building as if pounding on the walls of his mind with the possibility of help. </p><p>Buffy had managed to weaken his grip a few times, and even got in a hit on Hansol’s injured shoulder from earlier. However, the young boy refused to back down, only being thrown off a little bit later by someone else arriving in the hall. </p><p>The person immediately used their boney elbow to crash into his ribcage, making the boy gasp in pain as the air was knocked out of him, and Buffy was able to get up soon after. While normally a beating afterwards would be expected from such actions, with how rushed these moments were for the kidnappers, all they needed to do was restrain the boy for the time being. </p><p>Next to his ear, Hansol heard the voice of the gang’s dreaded leader, “I got him, get the rest.”</p><p>The younger boy tried to squirm away, but there was no avail. He had done everything in his power to stop the inevitable, and now, it would be up to the emergency responders rushing to the site to make a difference for the better.  </p><p>----------</p><p>The sirens were far too close at that point. Looking at the last two gang member’s still in the room, Buffy yelled to them, “One of you grab anyone else from upstairs, and the other go for one of those two in the corner right there!” </p><p>Using his shoulder, the man gestured right in the direction of Seonghwa and Wooyoung before making his way outside, not wanting to risk getting caught himself. </p><p>Once he ran through the building to arrive at the car, Buffy went and double checked the vehicle, making sure they had enough room for possibly one more person with both Jeonghan and Hansol being stuffed right into the trunk, since they had been knocked out, and Felix and Jungkook still blindfolded in the back as they were seated on opposite sides of Snake who held a gun that was locked and loaded in preparedness for either to make a move. </p><p>As the three men, Snake, the leader, and Buffy, watched the exit door for any movement from their other members, the leader suddenly let out an angered grunt, “Dammit,” the key he was holding now shoved in as he started the car. </p><p>Buffy then looked at him in slight surprise, “What about the others?”</p><p>The leader merely gazed at the hidden back road ahead, already having made up his mind, “They’re too close. At this point, we all will be caught if we don’t move.”</p><p>Their feelings of regret seemed to be short-lived as the three got over any remorse quickly and sped away in the dirtied, backup car, leaving behind five valuable prisoners while still having four of their own.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OMG I finally updated!! Sorry for the delay, especially with that awful cliffhanger, but it's finally here.<br/>I hope the wait was worth it!<br/>You all have to know I couldn't let things end THAT easily!! But I'm excited to explore the story further with you all :)<br/>Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, as always, and have a wonderful week &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Let's Take You Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV: general, Wooyoung, Hongjoong<br/>Warnings!: blood and the mention of violence</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“How can there only be five?!”</p><p>Even though it was Seungcheol who roared out such a question, the rest of the boys were thinking the same thing, their emotions completely split between rejoicing for the recovery of their missing members and despair for those who would remain gone. This day was supposed to be a rescue, a time when they could finally embrace those who had been missing and move on with their lives.</p><p>This was certainly not part of the plan.</p><p>The horrid nightmare was supposed to be over. It would already be difficult enough with the healing process and legal actions needing to take place soon after, but now, there was still more to come?</p><p>“Some other gang members probably took them before we could arrive most likely, but we are still waiting for that confirmation. For now, we have identified the five who have been found: Kim Mingyu, Kim Namjoon, Lee Minho, Park Seonghwa, and Jung Wooyoung and have sent in the medical team along with our officers to fully assess the situation and determine if they can get some of them out of there. Until then, we will have to wait.”</p><p>Hearing the names of those who were actually rescued, the four boys had to adjust their minds wholly towards helping them rather than worry for what they couldn't change. Their brothers deserved that much.</p><p>As they stood next to the building, waiting for any signal to appear that would allow them to see those still inside, seconds felt as if they morphed into hours. This place represented something untouched. Something so foreign yet utterly familiar to them as its mysterious location haunted their minds for what seemed like forever, but to their brothers, this was an all too well-known nightmare. Something absolutely inhumane that marked the day they would never be the same.</p><p>However, a glimmer of hope finally arose from the dark warehouse once they faced a new swarm of medics bursting from the building, wheeling an occupied stretcher behind them.</p><p>Obviously, none of the boys could wait to see who it was and rushed into the busy scene without warning, only to recognize Mingyu’s distinguishable face among the crowd, albeit different from when they last saw him. The bags under his eyes and his facial bones were more prominent due to the sunken in appearance from days of malnourishment. The leg they were all concerned about was poorly wrapped with a mangled cloth in an attempt to preserve it from any further damage than what had already become of the poor appendage.</p><p>While the other three group leaders slowed down after identifying the boy for themselves, Seungcheol kept on racing forward, overwhelmed by the emotions ransacking his body after seeing his cherished younger brother once again. It was a moment that tugged at all of their heart strings. Even officers just passing by, simply following through with their assignments, turned to watch the interactions that soon followed.</p><p>Reaching the bed quickly, Seventeen’s leader found his hands shaking right before the other, every fiber of his being wanting to touch any part of his dongsaeng just to confirm that, yes, this was real. However, Seungcheol still had to hold himself back in case Mingyu would react negatively to physical contact.</p><p>Cautiously drawing out the younger’s attention, the leader spoke softly, “Mingyu? I-It’s me, Seungcheol.”</p><p>Said boy’s violent shaking then stopped for a second, his eyes previously concentrated aimlessly on the tip of his toes now widened in disbelief of the sound he had just recognized. They all, especially Seungcheol, held their breaths as Mingyu followed the source of the voice to discover his beloved brother he thought he would never see again.</p><p>“Hyung?”</p><p>With a hiccup of overwhelming emotion interrupting his speech, Seungcheol nodded frantically to confirm his brother’s question, “Yes!”</p><p>Time stood still as they searched each other’s faces, Mingyu trying to make sure this was reality and Seungcheol focusing on any reaction that was to come about from the younger.</p><p>Everyone was then blown away by the younger boy as he dove into his leader's arms, burying his head in the older's chest as he fully broke down to his brother, painful sobs wracking all throughout his body as he cried for the simultaneous loss and gain of his family in the past few minutes.</p><p>Seungcheol froze, not expecting anything like this to occur, as his brother held onto his waist like a vise. Taking a few seconds to come back to reality, the older boy felt the dam behind his eyes collapse as all the tears building up now fell freely, his arms returning the gesture as he held Mingyu tightly. Honestly, he should be more concerned by the force he was exerting on the boy since Mingyu was much more feeble than before, but nothing could stop him from living out the complete and utter relief he felt in that moment.</p><p>Unfortunately, their reunion had to be cut short as the medics still needed to get Mingyu to the hospital as fast as possible. Understanding their urgency, Seungcheol stuck with holding the boy’s hand as they raced to the ambulance, knowing he could spend more time with Mingyu in there while keeping in mind the boy’s physical wellbeing.</p><p>With mostly everyone’s attention trained on scene in front of them, the other three boys hadn’t even seen the next two stretchers approaching until their ears caught wind of various orders from the incoming EMTs. Turning to the new wave commotion, Jin had successfully found Namjoon laying a top one of the beds, arms crossed in protection as his zoned-out eyes warily studied the new environment outside.</p><p>Hoping to experience a similar reunion to the members of Seventeen, Jin tried to reach forward and let his brother know he was there, that they were finally together again, but Namjoon simply flinched away, looking up to meet the now distraught eyes of his hyung. Even though a soothing expression crossed his face in gratefulness for seeing his family member again, the leader still retained a distant look swirling around in his pupils, “Hi, hyung.”</p><p>His small smile almost seemed numb, understanding but separate from the real world. Jin felt his joy drop significantly from such an emotionless reaction, but if Namjoon needed space to heal, he had to grant the other’s wishes. Calming his racing heart, the older smiled back with warmth, “Hi, Joon.”</p><p>With the two boys now caught up and the second stretcher eventually being moved to another waiting ambulance, the last one there seated Minho. Although, any sort of reunion was thrown out right out the door when his severe head wound was spotted, tainting the sheets underneath as Chan cried out desperately to reach his brother, “Minho!”</p><p>Jogging alongside the medics, the leader looked up to them with an expression of extreme unease for the state of his member, “Will he be okay?”</p><p>Keeping it short and simple for the boy, one of workers took the time to answer him, “We need to examine the injury more closely to fully assess the damage. However, it doesn’t appear to be too serious from a superficial view.”</p><p>Glad to hear somewhat reassuring news, Chan nodded thankfully to the woman before immediately following them, leaving Hongjoong as the only one who hadn’t seen either of his members. The young leader now found himself worrying over what could possibly be going on. The anxious ringing in his head got even louder as time went on, leading him to finally question Officer Choi and the lead woman who had been standing by them, “Where are my brothers? Where’s Seonghwa and Wooyoung?”</p><p>He didn’t want to sound angered since the officers were obviously scattered at the moment, but the concern was slowly eating away at him. As the only group leader who had both his members recovered, he should be the one feeling the best off, but the longer it took, the more he worried the opposite may stand true.</p><p>Before they could respond, another policeman ran up to them, panting as he looked Ateez’s leader dead in the eye, “Mr. Kim, it appears we will need your assistance.”</p><p>----------</p><p>
  <em>Wooyoung?</em>
</p><p>There had been movement and multiple flashes of light all around the room for some time, but he refused to look up. The body remained motionless in front of him, blood slowly leaking from the abdominal wound he had inflicted not too long ago.</p><p>All he could do was stare at that scarlet puddle in front of him in shock, as if the concrete would swallow him up whole for having done such a horrendous thing, but there was no other choice.</p><p>
  <em>Wooyoung!</em>
</p><p>They had already been through so much. If that hand had reached out and grabbed his hyung to bring them back to a place equivalent to this personal hell, he wouldn’t be able to handle it. When the man had tried to grab him before, Seonghwa used all the strength he had to stop him, being thrown off to the side with a groan and remaining unresponsive just like before.</p><p>When that dirtied, calloused hand entered into Wooyoung's vision once again, he lost it, grabbing the knife off the man’s belt before slashing it wildly in front of him.</p><p>
  <em>WOOYOUNG!</em>
</p><p>There was a second person now. How could that be possible? Hadn’t they left? What more could they want!?</p><p>Gripping the wooden handle of the stolen knife in his hands even tighter, Wooyoung slipped backwards into the space of his older brother, showing the weapon he had previously used in defense to these new perpetrators as well.</p><p>No one was getting near them. Never again.</p><p>However, unlike the normal circumstances they were used to, this new individual seemed to withdraw at his warning position, getting the hint to back off despite the obvious tremble in Wooyoung’s muscles as he tried to intimidate them further.</p><p>
  <em>We won’t hurt you.</em>
</p><p>Lies.</p><p>It was all lies. Of course, they would say that. They promised him such a thing before, and now look at them. Look at his brother!</p><p>They promised him safety, yet the permanent message Wooyoung faced on Seonghwa’s back every day said otherwise. Or maybe it said exactly what he needed to believe. That in order to protect Seonghwa, he could only count on himself.</p><p>The rest simply lied.</p><p>
  <em>Please, put the knife down.</em>
</p><p>“I-I c-can’t.”</p><p>He tried to reason with the new intruder as best he could. However, the shadows just kept on creeping forward in their calculated steps, refusing to back down just as much as he was. In one last attempt to warn them, he let out a booming, “Stop!” that silenced the room for only a mere second before the actions continued, much to his dismay.</p><p>Why wouldn’t anyone listen to his pleas? Did they not understand what he was willing to do?</p><p>Getting himself ready to attack once again, Wooyoung lifted his weapon up, about to stand and run towards the enemy as he opened his eyes in fury, only to lock with a familiar gaze he missed so dearly. One that the boy never thought he would see again.</p><p>This couldn’t be happening.</p><p>His mind was playing tricks on him in order to adjust to this new life of theirs. There was no other explanation.</p><p>Despite his thoughts of denial, nothing could stop the small amount of hope in his heart as he whispered out in the quietest voice imaginable, “Hongjoong-h-hyung?”</p><p>----------</p><p>Hongjoong was soon led into the warehouse with increased security around him.</p><p>“Wooyoung and Seonghwa seem to be in the most severe situation. An unidentified body is lying in front of the duo and appears to have been afflicted by a possibly fatal injury. We need your help to get through to them.”</p><p>While the relief of knowing he would see his brothers again was the only thing keeping Hongjoong going, he was far too worried it would no longer be his brothers recovered. Instead, they would reflect the same lifeless expressions as Mingyu and Namjoon, crushed by those horrid devils and changed for the worst.</p><p>Getting ready for whatever could be situated behind that basement door, Hongjoong determined that the motivation to just reunite with his members would be enough preparation for what he was about to see.</p><p>Well, he couldn’t be more wrong.</p><p>The leader stopped dead in the entrance, his body emitting a visceral reaction to the very real body bleeding out in the room, accompanied by the unsettling stench from the filthy basement. Feeling a few gags rise in his throat, Hongjoong had no idea which was more disturbing, the scene itself or the fact that his brother, Wooyoung, was just staring at the injured man, face devoid of any emotion.</p><p>Pushing himself past the initial shock and cold hatred flowing through his veins from the visible mistreatment around him, Hongjoong gradually made his way over to his brothers for the first time in what had felt like forever.</p><p>“Wooyoung?”</p><p>No response, only the deafening march of silence that came from his pale, skinny members.</p><p>“Wooyoung!”</p><p>This second call seemed to catch the boy’s attention a little bit, except not in the right way as the younger backed away from the sound, holding his unsteady weapon up as a weak form of protection.</p><p>“WOOYOUNG!”</p><p>The officers were about to shove the leader behind them, sensing that Wooyoung at this point was so traumatized, he was completely fight or flight mode. It didn’t matter who was standing before him, Wooyoung’s only goal was to protect himself and Seonghwa.</p><p>However, Hongjoong still pushed on, “We won’t hurt you. Please, put the knife down.”</p><p>Rather than receive a normal response of silence, he was met with a small voice, “I-I c-can’t.”</p><p>It seemed as if one of the officers was growing tired of the lack of cooperation and decided to reach for the weapon forcefully, causing the boy to panic, “Stop!”</p><p>Hongjoong then gave the random policeman a death glare, angered by their thoughtless interference that scared Wooyoung even more. He, more than anyone, was desperate to let his brothers know that their torture was finally over and that they were safe, but he wanted them to make the choice to trust again themselves. It couldn’t be forced.</p><p>Unfortunately, that hope was much too wishful for the moment as Wooyoung’s grip tightened on the knife, drawing it back to be used, when they moved towards the duo again. Just as Hongjoong was yanked backwards, far enough from the younger boy who was about to be restrained by the prepared officers around them, their eyes finally met one another.</p><p>Hongjoong could see the pain filtering through the other’s dark orbs as Wooyoung’s confused mind was deciphering whether or not this was all a hallucination.</p><p>“H-Hongjoong-h-hyung?”</p><p>Overjoyed to have passed the first step in getting through to his brother, the older nodded gently while he crept towards him once again, “I’m here.”</p><p>However, that still wasn’t enough to convince his dongsaeng to give over his full trust right away, “Y-You’re here?”</p><p>Trying to reach his brother to prove he was real with physical contact, Hongjoong felt his heart break even more when the younger merely moved backwards. Wooyoung, the member who was always overflowing with love and physical affection, was actually scared of touch.</p><p>How could this be the same boy who bothered the whole group for cuddles that they all secretly adored? Who would climb over top of them to get attention in his chaotic yet loving way?</p><p>How was this his brother?</p><p>Lost to the pained bewilderment in his head, Hongjoong barely heard Wooyoung’s next words, “I-I’m sorry. Had to protect him.”</p><p>He then looked down at the motionless body again, not wanting to face the realization that his brother really had no other choice than to risk his sense of morality and possibly take the life of another to protect himself and Seonghwa. Needing the boy to know that absolutely none of this was his fault, Hongjoong continued with as steady of a voice as he could manage, “And you did, Wooyoungie. I’m proud of you.”</p><p>“I-I did g-good?”</p><p>The younger now had his head tilted in confusion, his mind unable to grasp what was right and wrong, what was acceptable or not anymore, “I w-won’t be p-punished?”</p><p>Desperate to protect his beloved brother who seemed to shrink down more and more as they talked, Hongjoong wanted to let him know they would be safe, “Of course not! None of this was your fault. You did what you had to.”</p><p>Looking behind the younger boy, Hongjoong spotted Seonghwa with half-lidded eyes, obviously lost to the world as he bordered on passing out.</p><p>He felt a tear drop down his face at the sight the older made, absorbing the urgent state his brother was in as one of the medics reached for him since Wooyoung had become less hostile.</p><p>All of the progress they made with the boy nearly flew out the window as his eyes broke from Hongjoong to give the strange man a furious gaze while clinging onto his older brother, pointing the weapon at him now.</p><p>“They won’t hurt him.” Hongjoong pleaded, trying to diffuse the situation once again, “We just need to care for Seonghwa right now. Please, Wooyoung.”</p><p>The younger merely refused him, “I can’t leave him!”</p><p>Turning to the audience behind them, Hongjoong shared a knowing look. One the signaled Wooyoung and Seonghwa would have to stay together if there was any possibility of them making it out, “Don’t worry. You won’t be split from him or me ever again. I won’t let that happen.”</p><p>The ice in his gaze melted once again as those words truly sunk in, “Do you promise?”</p><p>“Yes.” Mustering up all the courage circulating through his body, Hongjoong nodded, “I promise.”</p><p>Slowly holding out his hand for Wooyoung to give him the knife, he heard a gasp behind his back, the officers in charge obviously not happy with him placing himself in danger so recklessly. However, Hongjoong knew he would be the only one his brother would listen to.</p><p>Hesitantly, Wooyoung’s quivering grip loosened to finally give Hongjoong the dangerous object. Taking the knife away and quickly handing it to an officer nearby, Hongjoong gently held Wooyoung’s frail hand in his, tears gathering in his eyes for the building trust his brother was now showing.</p><p>“Let’s take you home.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know, I know. This update took FOREVER, but it's finally here!!<br/>In my defense, I had so many exams the week before and couldn't write at all, so that set me back. BUT, it will go back to normal after this!<br/>Ugh these reunions hit me in the FEELS (and there are certainly more to come so get ready). I really hope you all enjoyed this chap, and have a fantastic week &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. You Did This</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV: Minho, Jisung, and general<br/>Warnings: references to past torture, PTSD</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Minho finally woke up again, he grunted from where he was laying on the concrete floor, patting his head to feel for any throbbing due to the trauma he took from the kidnappers recently, yet there was nothing. In fact, none of his old or new bruises were bothering him either, which was quite odd since his body had been littered with so many.</p><p>Sitting up with slight discomfort from the hardness of ground, there was one more thing he noticed, a detail that was quite normal during his stay at the warehouse. Shifting his leg around to make sure his mind wasn’t fooling him, Minho gasped as he received no noise or familiar pressure from the chain that had usually been around his ankle. With that in mind, he now realized he had no handcuffs on either.</p><p>Feeling an exhilarated rush surge through his body in response to the freedom he was met with, Minho looked right where the entrance to the basement had always been but was only met with a blank wall. As a matter of fact, there was absolutely nothing around him: no kidnappers, no chains, no idols, but most importantly, no Felix.</p><p>Now concerned for where his brother could possibly be, the older boy called out his name to the empty room, hoping for any sort of answer, “Felix?”</p><p>However, Minho was met with nothing but silence, forcing him stand up to go look for the younger when a few sniffles hit his ears, alerting him that there must be an individual hiding in the shadows he hadn’t seen before. Cautiously making his way in the direction of the sound, Minho finally caught sight of another person curled up in the corner in front of him, their familiar mop of blond hair catching his attention as it belonged to his missing brother.</p><p>“Felix!”</p><p>The boy still didn’t move or respond. His sobs instead increased in volume as Minho made his way there.</p><p>Slotting himself right next to the younger, Minho didn’t have time to comfort him when they had the chance to escape right now. Pulling on the other boy’s sickly thin arm, he whispered out, “Don’t worry, I’m here Felix! But we need to leave now. We can finally get out! Come on!”</p><p>However, Felix simply mumbled out one barely audible question, “Why did you do it?”</p><p>Confused by what the other boy could have possible meant, Minho diverted his full awareness to his brother now, “What?”</p><p>But before there was an answer, Felix disappeared right from between his arms, Minho now embracing nothing but air as he stared at the spot his member had occupied only seconds ago. The older boy felt panic pummel his entire body as he twisted his head in every direction, trying to find the smaller boy who had suddenly vanished.</p><p>That’s when the wall to his left, completely blocked off from before, now housed about a dozen different doors, each exactly the same as the other. His mind figured that his brother must have disappeared behind one of those doors, and Minho knew he could never leave without him.</p><p>Therefore, he stood right up and picked a random one to go through, only to be met with even more doors behind it. He tried turning back to the starting point, but that entrance has already been blocked off. Having nowhere to go at this point, Minho continued on his endless journey that was rushing through door after door to find Felix, the horrific maze showing no signs of escape every time.</p><p>After full minutes of going through a multitude of passages, Minho nearly felt his sanity give up when he was suddenly met with only one door illuminated by a singular light. Thinking that his solutions had to be there, he shoved the metallic door open to reveal a strange scenery.</p><p>It was the same as all the other rooms from before except there was a large tub set in the middle with someone submerging their head into the container.</p><p>Walking closer to the bizarre depiction, Minho soon began to realize that the individual was not just any random stranger, but his brother.</p><p>“Felix!”</p><p>He wanted to run. To save the other boy from whatever madness had befallen him, but he could no longer move. It was as if his muscles suddenly turned into concrete in that moment, cementing him where he stood.</p><p>Feeling tears of frustration rush to his eyes, Minho had no time to recognize the dark figure in the back now laughing at the scene before him.</p><p>Raising his gaze to the source of that malicious sound, Minho narrowed his eyes at the intruder which happened to be the despicable gang leader.</p><p>“What the hell did you do!?”</p><p>He knew this whole ordeal must have been the other man’s fault, but he never expected him to just stop smiling and reveal a surprised expression, “Me? I didn’t do anything.”</p><p>Minho wasn’t buying that for one second, “My brother! What have you done to him!”</p><p>“Oh,” the leader made his way towards the smaller boy’s body, causing Minho to struggle against his invisible restraints once more to try and stop the man from touching his younger member.</p><p>“I didn’t do this.”</p><p>Before Minho could question him again, the older man gave him a disturbing smile as he continued, “You did.”</p><p>“Wha—”</p><p>Suddenly Minho switched places with him, hovering over Felix rather than remaining frozen by the entrance. Wanting to know what in the world was going on, it seemed his body had a mind of its own as his hands abruptly shot out to push his brother down into the icy water.</p><p>Appalled to have done such a thing, Minho tried to pry his arms back so he could save the other instead, but there was no avail.</p><p>“Stop!”</p><p>However, the command had no effect, his body not listening as he continued to carry out the horrific activity, no one else there to help except for the leader who merely cackled with entertained laughter from where he stood. Felix finally seemed to have regained the ability react again, except there was nothing his weak struggle could do against the vice grip of the older’s hands on his head, his arms now flailing around in a panic.</p><p>“STOP! Please!”</p><p>Minho tried to shout again, but it was no use. He could only watch as Felix was once again tortured by his own doing, his sprawled legs and silent pleas of mercy underwater making Minho cry out miserably, “I’m trying to let go! It won’t work! Why won’t it work?!”</p><p>His hands wouldn’t raise, the man wouldn’t stop laughing, and his brother was still not allowed that breath of air Minho had unwillingly been refusing him. At this point, the older was absolutely hysterical, watching his brother be drowned once again.</p><p>Except this time, Felix stopped fighting for good.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>Finally given control of his limbs again, Minho immediately raised the boy from the water, waiting to hear him suck in a gasp of freedom, but the younger’s eyes simply remained closed, his lips blue and face dangerously pale from the low temperature of the water he had been in.</p><p>Breaking out of his initial shock, Minho shook him harshly, “Oh god, please wake up!”</p><p>But he didn’t.</p><p>
  <em>You killed him.</em>
</p><p>“Felix, PLEASE!”</p><p>
  <em>This is all your fault.</em>
</p><p>“Wake up!”</p><p>
  <em>You killed your own brother.</em>
</p><p>“NOOOOO!”</p><p>----------</p><p>Jisung and the other Stray Kids members were waiting at the hospital and had been pacing ever since they arrived, praying that their brothers would come back safe and sound. It was obvious they would definitely be traumatized from such an experience, but they would finally be with them.</p><p>They would be home.</p><p>After countless more hours passed, that to them, felt like eternity, all of the groups jumped up at the new intrusion of multiple stretchers, the one with Minho and Chan running beside him catching Jisung’s immediate attention. Just the sight of his hyung made eyes water with utter solace, and he could no longer hold himself back from rushing over to Chan in desperation to be near their previously missing brother.</p><p>“H-Hyung,” he whispered, looking down at the older being rushed through the halls, still not believing Minho was actually with them.</p><p>Just as they were about to enter into the room with the workers, one of the nurses turned back with a sympathetic yet serious expression to stop them, “In order for us to do our best job, we normally don’t allow anyone in. However, since we have been notified of your special case, we will allow only one person. You all can choose who.”</p><p>Observing his members with pleading eyes, Jisung asked in a small voice, “Can I?”</p><p>While it was obvious the others wanted to do so as well, he couldn’t help but be selfish and ask to watch over the older himself. Some looked as if they wanted to object and offer themselves up, but Chan stopped them, knowing how close Minho and Jisung were, and nodded to the boy with a supportive gaze.</p><p>Jisung’s face then lit up with joy, “Thank you, hyung! I’ll update you all soon, and tell me how Felix is, okay?”</p><p>At that, Chan made a weird face, almost like he was ashamed by something he had said, but Jisung just decided to ignore it for now.</p><p>Following the nurse into the room, it was as if he were a shadow, the medical staff paying him no attention as they worked around each other, assessing his brother’s condition, and confirming that the other boy was at least stable.</p><p>From what he could tell, Minho appeared to okay aside from the wound on his head, the nurses and doctors ordering different fluids and treatments for his hyung. Jisung desperately wanted to be by his side, at least holding his hand for comfort, but he knew he couldn’t risk being in the way. Therefore, he stuck to the corner, waiting patiently.</p><p>It had been a few minutes before everything in the room was set up. Minho still had a few tests going, but he could at least be near the boy now. Just as Jisung approached him and tried talking with one of the staff members, his hyung suddenly shot up in bed, short breaths coming from his mouth as he frantically looked around him and started tugging at the IV on his arm, the heart monitor releasing a loud repetitive beep all around them.</p><p>One of the nurses tried deescalating the situation, “Mr. Lee you need to calm down.”</p><p>However, there was no avail, Minho kept struggling, pushing away anyone close to him as he began to mumble under his breath.</p><p>A male nurse tried joining the other lady to restrain him, but this time Minho screamed out in horror, not knowing what was going on at all.</p><p>“GET OFF ME!”</p><p>Minho’s foot struck the man right in his gut, allowing him some more space to move and possibly get away. Hoping that at least he could get through to the boy, Jisung grabbed his free arm, yelling to him before the other would yank it off, “Hyung!”</p><p>It was in that moment that the frantic energy of the room died down as Minho now froze, his eyes concentrated on the wall in front of him but collecting with tears. Turning to the loving voice he hadn’t thought he would hear ever again, the older held an expression of disbelief as he met eyes with Jisung.</p><p>“Ji-Jisung? H-How are you h-here?”</p><p>Glad to have gotten his brother to finally settle down, Jisung shook his head softly as tears of relief came to his eyes, “Yes, it’s me hyung. You and Felix were rescued. You’re safe now.”</p><p>Jisung had truly hoped that explanation would suffice for now and that mentioning Felix’s wellbeing would help ease his brother into working with them.</p><p>However, the mention of the younger boy unfortunately had the complete opposite effect, Minho looking down at his quivering hands as he reminisced on the returning feeling of panic he experienced in his dream, “Felix…”</p><p>That’s when the tranquility of seeing his brother again broke, “Where is he?!”</p><p>“Minho-hyung, I’m sure Felix is ok—”</p><p>However, he was cut off, “NO! You don’t understand, I need to see him!”</p><p>“Hyung, please, calm down!” Jisung was so desperate for his brother to come back to them, but Minho seemed lost again.</p><p>“I can’t! I CAN’T! I need to know he’s alive! Let me go!”</p><p>This time, it seemed as if the boy had no chance of calming down on his own, so the doctor eventually moved to sedate him for everyone’s safety, including his own.</p><p>Minho immediately halted his actions as he knew the breech in his skin would mean nothing good. Feeling his muscles get weaker and weaker, Minho finally gazed back at Jisung with a pitiful look.</p><p>The younger could only watch with guilt as his brother’s eyes slowly began to close, “I’m so sorry, hyung.”</p><p>Minho went to hold his hand even tighter, “S-Sungie…” However, his voice soon faded into a whisper as he eventually succumbed to the darkness gathering around his eyes.</p><p>Jisung on the other hand, was still holding onto him with all the strength in his being, mourning the loss of his old hyung he loved so dearly, only wanting the same boy back.</p><p>----------</p><p>“How is he?”</p><p>Jisung had finally decided to leave Minho’s room after a few minutes, wishing to stay by the other’s side for longer, but he knew the other members were desperate for an update. It was now Changbin who had asked how their older brother was doing while the group surrounded him with concerned looks.</p><p>“It’s a…rough situation, but I’m just glad he’s safe with us. The staff said they would send someone out with updates soon and allow someone else to go in.”</p><p>Letting out a shaky breath, he began to update them on Minho’s actual condition, “Physically, the doctor said he should be fine with the proper time to heal, but mentally, he is still very shaken up.” Which makes complete sense, but it was still difficult for them all to hear, “He woke up towards the middle of the check-up, but they had to restrain him soon after so he wouldn’t hurt himself or mess with the equipment. I tried to get through to him, but he was more worried for Felix than anything.”</p><p>At the mention of the younger member, Jisung felt himself jump in attention, finding it odd that no one was with the other boy either, “Why isn’t anyone with Felix right now? How is he? Is he hurt?”</p><p>Waiting for any answer to come his way, Jisung was only met with silence from the rest as they just stared at him with a pathetic expression, Hyunjin suddenly bursting out in a pained cry as well. Changbin immediately put an arm around their member for comfort, walking away to calm him down once again, but Jisung still desired an answer, not sitting well with the new sinking feeling in his stomach from his brother’s reaction.</p><p>Chan stepped forward, always the leader taking responsibility even when none of this was his fault, “I’m sorry, Jisung.”</p><p>“S-Sorry for what?” Felix was probably just afflicted with harsh injury, but he would recover. There was no other option for the way his members were acting. “Just tell me how he is?”</p><p>“Jisung, he…”</p><p>A lifeless laugh soon left his lips, “Just say he’s all right. Felix h-has to be fine.” Despite his words, Jisung already felt tears fall down his face in preparation for the bad news.</p><p>Chan had his gaze fixed downwards as he tried to blink away his own gathering tears, “Felix was taken before we could get there.” Glancing up, his eyes were revealed to be a harsh red from a combination of sleepless nights and guilt, “He’s still missing.”</p><p>
  <em>‘Missing.’</em>
</p><p>That one word was the only thing occupying Jisung’s now empty head. The boy tried mulling it over to make it into anything else except their own truth, but it was too late. His knees fell to the floor with a thud as Seungmin, standing right by him, caught the boy before he could completely collapse.</p><p>“H-How is that possible.”</p><p>The question was completely rhetorical as Chan had already told him all there was to know, but he couldn’t help his own disbelief from showing. Seungmin tried running his hand over the expanse of the other boy’s back in comfort, something that had to be done to him only minutes ago, but Jisung kept on weeping, too shaken up from the traumatized look on Minho’s face and now knowing his best friend was still gone.</p><p>He then placed shaking hands over his ears in a panic, “Why can’t this just be over!”</p><p>Jeongin kneeled down to their level as well, trying to hold back his own emotions and be strong for his hyungs, “I-It’s all going to be okay—" but Jisung was quick to interrupt him, “Minho-hyung is already out of his mind, and now, Felix is nowhere to be found!”</p><p>The boy would be kicking himself later for yelling at their maknae like that when he was just trying to help, but for now, he finally let his repressed emotions run wild, “Why?”</p><p>Seungmin and Jeongin immediately went in to hug the fragile boy while Chan squatted down to join in, trying to hide his fallen tears in the material of Seungmin’s shirt as he embraced the others tightly, still wallowing in his own misery as well, “I wish I knew Sungie. I wish I knew.”</p><p>----------</p><p>A few more minutes passed before Jisung got up with a recovered yet dull stare, wiping the dried tears off his face to go somewhere else in the hospital, “I’m going to get a breath of fresh air.”</p><p>Seungmin immediately popped up to join him, not wanting to leave his despondent brother alone in this moment, “I can come with you.”</p><p>However, Jisung only wanted peace to clear his head, “Thanks, Seungmin, but I’ll be all right for now.”</p><p>Giving his brothers a reassuring nod that communicated he would be all right, Jisung made his way towards the entrance of the hospital to give himself some time to think and absorb everything that had just happened.</p><p>However, on his way there, he noticed Soonyoung and Seokmin from Seventeen sat on a bench towards the end of the hall. Chan had let them know of the other three boys taken as well, that being Jungkook, Hansol, and Jeonghan. Seeing as how their heads were hanging low, Jisung could only guess they were probably still reeling back from the same information they had received as well, except they still had two members missing rather than one.</p><p>Peeking up at his intrusion, the two boys nodded their heads in courtesy, Seokmin speaking first, “Hey Jisung-ssi, how’s Minho doing?”</p><p>He surely didn’t know the boys too well, but after this whole ordeal, they were all unified in ways they never could have expected.</p><p>“I was the first to visit him. It looks like his condition isn’t too severe, but he had just woken up only to completely freak out and end up sedated.”</p><p>Both the boys nodded in understanding, “We’re sorry to hear that, but at least he's safe.”</p><p>Wanting to take his mind off the topic, Jisung asked them how Mingyu was. He already knew the boy had sustained a pretty horrific injury from the videos they were disgusted to watch, so he could only hope the issue wouldn’t make the two members too upset.</p><p>While Seokmin seemed to shrink in on himself, Soonyoung tugged his brother in further before gesturing Jisung over to take a seat, “He’s doing…as good as he can be. Luckily, he’s been responsive to us, and for those who have been able to see him, he’s had a positive reaction to. Although, from what we heard, he definitely needs someone in the room with him for comfort at all times, especially with all the strange workers around him. The doctor that updated us said that he will have to have surgery on his leg soon. They said it was a comminuted fracture which means the bone is in, um…pieces.”</p><p>Those last few words were obviously hard for the boy to admit out loud, yet he kept on going, “But before that happens, Mingyu insists on seeing Junhui-hyung first. We told him he’s all right, but Mingyu is adamant on determining that for himself.”</p><p>Nodding his head in appreciation for their candor, Jisung decided to find out more information about everyone else so that the two boys could focus on something else, “Do you know about any of the other groups?”</p><p>Seokmin nodded and took the time to respond himself, “Jin was talking with Seungcheol-hyung and gave us an update about Namjoon’s state. Apparently, he’s in good condition despite his hand and a sprained ankle.”</p><p>“And mentally?” Jisung knew that this one was the most challenging.</p><p>“He’s one of the worst. Namjoon just doesn’t react at all. Jin said that he has acted the same way to all of the bts members. He just kind of smiles, but any contact he flinches away from. Jimin got to visit him and apparently raced to hug him, but” Seokmin took a deep breath of empathy, “When he did, Namjoon simply tensed up and nearly had a panic attack, so the medical staff had to make him step back.”</p><p>It was quite interesting how all of the missing idols had different reactions to their members, yet they all suffered from the same traumatic experience. That just goes to show how complex the situation truly was for them, but before Jisung could get lost in his mind about that, he heard Soonyoung speak in a sort of whispered tone, “I can’t believe Ateez got both of them back.”</p><p>All the other groups were quite envious of that, yet they couldn’t help but feel hopeful that rescuing the rest of their brothers could be possible if at least one group was successful.</p><p>“Yeah, but I heard Seonghwa isn’t doing very well.” This caught Jisung’s attention again, “They were lucky his body didn’t go into shock from the fluid loss of the burns, but apparently he still has a nasty infection and may be experiencing issues with organ function.”</p><p>Jisung may not have gotten both of his members back, but at least Minho was in a much better condition than that.</p><p>“Wooyoung also had to be restrained since he wouldn’t allow anyone to touch his brother, even if they were medical workers.”</p><p>At the mention of the other boy, Jisung suddenly remembered an important yet disturbing detail he was told, “I heard he, um, …” He couldn’t even finish, knowing the other two probably understood what he meant.</p><p>“Stabbed a guy?” Seokmin asked, in almost a hauntingly casual voice that had Jisung feeling uneasy.</p><p>“Yeah. There are no updates on those kidnappers’ conditions, but I hope whatever they are going through is painful as hell. They all deserve it.”</p><p>Jisung could sense the anger in the older boy's voice and couldn’t agree more. No amount of justice could ever make up for the suffering these men had inflicted on them all.</p><p>----------</p><p>“Damn, we really did underestimate you all.”</p><p>The spine-chilling voice of Snake immediately woke the four boys up from their exhausted slumber. Right now, they were all equally petrified for what was going to happen next. The men were obviously furious with them for getting their brothers rescued, especially Jungkook who somehow notified the police of their location when he escaped, but they were also beyond themselves with relief that their brothers were now safe. It was now only Hansol and Jeonghan who had to worry for each other’s safety being used for leverage.</p><p>“I thought we were being quite fair to you all by promising your return for the money we demanded, but I guess we were far too generous.”</p><p>The gang members took extra precautions this time by blindfolding every one of the idols. Now, all they could hear were footsteps echoing around the room as the man approached the group of four, “Obviously, you can’t be trusted, so we’ll get our money in a…different way.”</p><p>Although they couldn’t see Snake, the drop in his voice let them know those last few words had a mischievous meaning behind them that would be far from pleasant.</p><p>“I’m glad the ones we have aren’t too roughed up,” Buffy said from the back, making most of the boys furrow their brow in confusion for what that could have possibly meant.</p><p>“I mean, that can heal up pretty well,” one of them must have pointed to one of the idol’s improving injuries, “and the rest seem to be recovering.”</p><p>Remaining clueless as to what the men could gain from these little observations, it was the last statement that stopped each and every one of the idols’ hearts as they realized things might have just gotten impossibly worse for them.</p><p>“After all, we wouldn’t want to sell damaged goods.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey guys! Sorry this update took a while, but I've been busy with final projects and exams for the end of school year! So, the next chapter might take some time as well, but after that, I will have more opportunities to write over the summer (yay!)<br/>Anyway, what do you think the kidnappers plan to do now??<br/>I hope you all enjoyed this update, and if any of you also have finals now, I wish you the best of luck and am cheering you on :)<br/>Have a fantastic week &lt;3</p>
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